NBA Opening Week: LeBron’s 76ers Spoil the Knicks’ Banner Night as Anthony Edwards Drops 45 on Giannis’s Heat

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Pictured: LeBron James, in 2022. Photo: Erik Drost via Wikimedia Commons (license on file page).

The NBA’s 2026-27 season is underway, and the first two nights delivered plenty: a party spoiled at Madison Square Garden, new stars in new uniforms, and a historic scoring night in Miami.

Opening night: Tuesday, October 20

76ers 106, Knicks 100. Before tip-off, Knicks legends Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe and Bill Bradley handed out championship rings and New York raised its third title banner, after last season’s Finals win over the Spurs ended a 53-year drought. Ben Stiller, Spike Lee and Jon Bon Jovi were among those in the crowd. Then Philadelphia spoiled the night. Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 28 points, Jaylen Brown added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his 76ers debut, and LeBron James, beginning his record 24th season and first with Philadelphia, had 14 points and seven assists. Jalen Brunson scored 21 for the Knicks, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Pistons 121, Celtics 113. Detroit rallied in the second half with a 23-0 run. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren scored 22 apiece, and Duncan Robinson had 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. Paul George scored 38 with seven threes in his Celtics debut, while Jayson Tatum went 6-for-23.

Thunder 116, Spurs 104. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 as Oklahoma City won in San Antonio. Victor Wembanyama made just 1 of 13 shots but grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked six shots, and Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 24. A flagrant foul on De’Aaron Fox set off a shoving match and several technicals.

Wednesday: Edwards spoils Giannis’s Heat debut

Giannis Antetokounmpo, traded to Miami by Milwaukee this offseason, scored 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting in his Heat debut, but Anthony Edwards stole the show. The Timberwolves star scored 45 points on 16-of-29 shooting, including nine three-pointers, with 10 rebounds in a 131-106 Minnesota win. It was the most points ever by a Timberwolves player in a season opener, and he joined Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan as the only players with more than one 40-point opener. LaMelo Ball added 21 points in his Minnesota debut, and Klay Thompson scored 10 in his first game for Miami.

Elsewhere on Wednesday’s 11-game slate, Memphis guard Ty Jerome scored a career-high 45 against Utah, Anthony Davis had 34 points and 12 rebounds in his Wizards debut, Portland opened its game against Phoenix on a 21-0 run, and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton returned more than 16 months after rupturing his Achilles tendon.

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