NBA fans couldn't have asked for much more than what the 2025-26 season opener provided.
Behind clutch baskets -- and free throws -- from MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Houston Rockets in double overtime ... on ring night ... against former franchise icon Kevin Durant. KD's new crew looked strong, however, showing the defending champs they have yet another challenger in the loaded Western Conference.
Speaking of the West, the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers faced off to wrap up opening night. Luka Doncic debuted for his first full season with the Lakers and impressed with a team-high 43 points. However, it wasn't enough, as the Warriors defeated the LeBron-less Lakers behind Jimmy Butler III's team-high 31 points.
As we tip off the NBA's 80th season, here are the top highlights from the opening night games as well as postgame takeaways from our ESPN insiders.
Jump to:
Rockets-Thunder Takeaways | Warriors-Lakers Takeaways
Warriors 119, Lakers 109
Butler bounces back, displays veteran impact
Jimmy Butler rolled both of his ankles during a painful training camp. The second tweak forced him to miss the final three preseason games, so there was some wonder about the type of shape he'd appear in come the opener. The answer: a whole lot like last season, when he jolted the Warriors from a lottery team into a playoff threat.
Butler controlled the game's pace for the majority of his 35 minutes, living at the free throw line, stalking the back side of the defense and bringing the team over the finish line in crunch time. Butler's 16 free throw attempts, all makes, were the most in a season opener by a Warriors player ever. He finished with 31 points, five rebounds and four assists. The Warriors were a plus-20 in his minutes and a minus-10 when he sat. That's impact. -- Anthony Slater
Up-and-down Lakers preseason bleeds into opening night
Mired in the middle of a lackluster preseason showing by his team, with LeBron James injured for all of training camp and the rest of his core scant participants, JJ Redick admitted, "These are the cards we were dealt."
Turns out, L.A. wasn't able to swap out for a new deck before opening night.
While Doncic (43 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists) was brilliant and Austin Reaves (26 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds) picked up where he left off last season, L.A. looked like a team that still needs time to coalesce.
All three of the Lakers' offseason additions were underwhelming, with new starting center Deandre Ayton totaling 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 34 minutes; Marcus Smart offsetting 9 points by going 0-for-3 on 3-pointers and committing four fouls with three turnovers; and Jake LaRavia totaling five points and three rebounds.
While L.A. didn't succumb to its circumstance -- even when it found itself down by 16 midway through the fourth and made a final push to cut it to six -- there are clearly things the Lakers need to work on, starting with cleaning up the offense. The Lakers had 20 turnovers, leading to 22 points for Golden State, and shot a paltry 8-for-32 (25%) from deep. -- Dave McMenamin
Like we said ... watch out for the Warriors
Tuesday wasn't a perfect performance by the Warriors, who had no answer for Luka Doncic defensively and committed 18 turnovers. Nonetheless, I think we saw in the opener why my stats-based projections were so high on Golden State coming into the season.
Adding Jimmy Butler has given the Warriors the ability to succeed with Stephen Curry on the bench. They were plus-nine in the 16 minutes Curry sat Tuesday, accounting for nearly the entire final margin. Steve Kerr went back to the kind of wide rotation we saw in Golden State's hot start to 2024-25, using 11 players and nine of them for at least 12 minutes, including a strong debut for second-round pick Will Richard.
More than anything, I was encouraged by Jonathan Kuminga's performance. Sure, Kuminga scored prolifically in the third quarter, but this was a complete effort featuring four 3-pointers, nine rebounds and six assists -- one off his career high. If Kuminga keeps playing this style, the Warriors will be hard to beat. -- Kevin Pelton
Thunder 125, Rockets 124 (2OT)
SGA's clutchness knows no bounds
The scoring title was sweet. The MVP was a monumental achievement.
But what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wants most is to be remembered as one of the NBA's all-time winners.
On a night that celebrated the first massive step in that journey -- seeing the 2024-25 championship banner raised to the Paycom Center rafters -- Gilgeous-Alexander displayed the remarkable blend of grit and skill that gives him a chance to accomplish all of his lofty goals.
Nothing came easy for Gilgeous-Alexander against a huge Houston squad with a ferocious defense featuring one of the NBA's best perimeter stoppers in Amen Thompson. A tough task was made even more difficult with co-star Jalen Williams (wrist) relegated to wearing a black leather trench coat while watching from the bench. The double-teams came at Gilgeous-Alexander early and often.
Gilgeous-Alexander waited patiently as he was held to five points in the first half, fewer than any of his halftime totals from last season. He had only 11 at the end of the third quarter.
Then Gilgeous-Alexander took over to put the Thunder in position to win. He had a dozen points in the fourth quarter, including a couple of tough clutch pull-ups, the last one over Thompson to tie the score with seconds remaining.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points, plus five rebounds, five assists, two steals, two blocks and several key plays that didn't pop up in the box score. He hit the game-winning free throws after baiting Kevin Durant, the former Thunder great who has drawn the wrath of the OKC crowd since leaving, into a foul by pump-faking.
And Gilgeous-Alexander once again walked off the floor a winner.
-- Tim MacMahon
Led by Sengun, Houston's massive lineup shows promise
Alperen Sengun is thriving in his expanding role as an offensive engine for the Rockets, hitting a career-high five 3-pointers while becoming the second player in franchise history to open a season on multiple occasions with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists. The fourth-year veteran initiated most of Houston's offense in the loss at OKC, scoring a game-high 39 points with 11 rebounds and a team-best seven assists in leading a starting unit that stood an average height of 82.2 inches -- the tallest starting group in an opener since starters were first tracked in 1970-71, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Expect the Rockets to continue experimenting with this lineup, which included Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant at guard, Jabari Smith Jr. and Sengun on the wings and Steven Adams at center. The offense remains a work in progress, but Houston limited OKC's starters to 2 of 22 from deep in regulation.
-- Michael C. Wright
Amen Thompson is a problem, but that 3-point jumper...
Thompson's development is one of the most important NBA storylines this season, and the opener showcased the highest highs and lowest lows for the young guard, before he left the game in overtime with an apparent injury.
On the positive side, Thompson was the primary defender holding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in check for most of the night -- Gilgeous-Alexander was noticeably more comfortable attacking every Rockets defender other than Thompson -- and he shot 8-for-10 on 2-pointers. Thompson is so quick on his drives and strong fighting through contact that he looked almost unstoppable at the rim.
But on the negative side, the most important number for Houston on Tuesday was zero. That is, zero made 3-pointers from Thompson, who shot 0-for-7 from distance, with several ugly misses. Opposing defenses will gladly give Thompson all the open 3s he wants, as he made just 14% as a rookie and 27% as a sophomore.
Thompson is a valuable player regardless of his 3-point percentage, but if he can't meaningfully improve from distance, Houston's offense could remain cramped all season long. This one stat could determine the height of the Rockets' ceiling as potential championship contenders.
-- Zach Kram