The opening night of the NBA season featured a thrilling double overtime finish, a return to an old broadcaster, a future Hall-of-Famer making a rookie mistake, and the league’s most reckless fouler picking up where he left off.
It all began in Oklahoma City – where the reigning champion Thunder hosted the Houston Rockets in the first game of the season.
Not only did this mark the beginning of a new campaign, it also featured the return of NBC – the network whose coverage, commentary, and theme song defined the league in the 1990s.
Fans praised the network’s first evening of broadcasting since 2002, with social media celebrating the calls of play-by-play man Mike Tirico, a comeback for the iconic song ‘Roundball Rock’, and the star-studded supporting cast of former players and Hall-of-Famers.
As for the game itself, it marked a special moment for the Thunder as they unveiled a championship banner and showed off their NBA title rings to a joyful home crowd at the Paycom Center.
They also gave a less-than-warm welcome to the Rockets and their new star, Kevin Durant.
Opening night of the NBA season saw the defending champion Thunder pull out a win
The two teams went to double overtime, with OKC beating hated former player Kevin Durant. The Rockets star (7) was seen calling a timeout in the first OT despite not having one.
Officials didn’t call Durant for a foul, incensing Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault
Durant, who notably left the Thunder in 2016 free agency to win back-to-back titles with the Golden State Warriors, ended up making a pair of mistakes that cost his team late.
After reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a shot for the Thunder to force overtime, Durant tried calling a timeout he didn’t have with the score knotted at 115-115 in the closing seconds of the extra period.
The Thunder alerted officials, with head coach Mark Daigneault being especially vocal and yelling at the referees. While the timeout wasn’t honored, OKC also didn’t receive the two free throws that they should have – which could have ended the game there.
‘I saw what I saw. I said what I said,’ Daigneault told reporters after the game. ‘I said my piece on the court – I’m not going to do it here… I’m over it now.’
He may be over it because his team won the game. Durant played a crucial role in that as he fouled-out after making contact with Gilgeous-Alexander while Houston had a one point lead late in the second overtime.
As Thunder fans jeered Durant all the way to the bench, Gilgeous-Alexander knocked through what would be the decisive free throws to win the game 125-124.
Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 35 points, five rebounds, and five assists while teammate Chet Holmgren contributed 28 points and seven rebounds.
Houston’s Alperen Sengun recorded the NBA’s first double-double of the season with 39 points and 11 rebounds alongside seven assists. Durant notched 23 points and nine rebounds in his first game in a Rockets uniform.
In the later game, Warriors star Draymond Green got a technical early in the contest
But without star LeBron James, the Lakers couldn’t pull out a victory over Golden State
Star Stephen Curry hit some clutch shots down the stretch to keep the Warriors in front
While the first game of the doubleheader was still being decided, the second game between the Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers had gotten underway.
In that time, Golden State lightning rod Draymond Green already picked up his first technical foul of the season.
Green, who was on the bench at the time, was screaming at a referee after a non-call for basket interference with just 5:22 remaining in the first quarter.
He was not ejected from the game, continuing throughout the contest in Los Angeles.
The family of the late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was in attendance. His widow Vanessa and his daughter Natalia were seen on the sidelines.
Joining them on the sidelines was LeBron James, who missed the game due to sciatica that could keep him off the court for a number of weeks.
The Lakers managed to keep the game close without him. However, the Warriors still have Stephen Curry – who hit some crucial shots late in the game to keep Golden State ahead.
The Warriors were led by Jimmy Butler’s 31 points to beat the Lakers 119-109.
For Los Angeles, Luka Doncic dropped 43 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists. Co-star Austin Reaves managed 26 points, five rebounds, and nine assists.
