The NBA has officially returned. Basketball tipped off with an opening night doubleheader on Tuesday, and it certainly didn't disappoint. First, the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder picked up an exhilarating 125-124 double-overtime victory. In the second game, the Golden State Warriors went on the road and took down the Los Angeles Lakers, 119-109, despite a 43-point effort from Luka Dončić with LeBron James sidelined.
The Rockets and Thunder may have just given us the best season opener in NBA history. Houston controlled most of regulation, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got hot in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. Oklahoma City controlled most of the extra period, before a Rockets rally tied things up at 115 apiece. However, upon rebounding a potential game-winning shot by Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant seemingly called a timeout that the Rockets didn't have.
That should have resulted in a technical foul, which would have given the Thunder a chance to win the game at the foul line. Instead, we went to a second overtime, which was, you guessed it, yet another back-and-forth affair. Alperen Sengun gave the Rockets a one-point lead with 11 seconds remaining, but two free-throws from Gilgeous-Alexander took it back with 2.3 left on the clock. That was enough to clinch it for Oklahoma City as a Jabari Smith turnaround jumper was off the mark as time expired.
In the nightcap, the Warriors kept the momentum that began after the Jimmy Butler trade last season as they looked crisp on both ends of the floor, receiving contributions up and down the roster. Butler led the team with 31 points, while Stephen Curry added 23 on 3-for-9 3-point shooting, and the two stars combined to go 24 for 24 from the free throw line.
Here are a few winners and losers from the first night of the 2025-26 NBA season.
Winner: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The reigning scoring champion, MVP and Finals MVP looked nothing like his usual self in the first half on Tuesday. Maybe he was thrown off by the emotion of ring night, maybe he needed a half to adjust to the Rockets' aggressive defense, or maybe he was just a bit rusty in his first real game action since June. Whatever it was, Gilgeous-Alexander only had five points on 2 of 5 from the field in the first half, which was a major reason the Thunder went into the break trailing.
By the fourth quarter, however, the Gilgeous-Alexander we grew accustomed to watching last season had arrived. Time and again, he got to his spots or the free throw line to keep the Thunder within striking distance. With 1:34 left in the fourth, he gave the Thunder the lead for the first time since the second quarter, and then, with the game on the line in the closing seconds of regulation, he buried a pull-up jumper over Amen Thompson to force overtime.
Gilgeous-Alexander missed a chance to win the game at the end of the first overtime, but would not let his moment pass in the closing seconds of the second extra frame. With the Thunder down by one, he went searching for some space, but was unable to find any against Kevin Durant's smothering defense. So he kept pivoting and faking until Durant eventually bit, and then Gilgeous-Alexander did what he does best: He drew contact and earned a trip to the free throw line. A few moments later, he sank the go-ahead free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining.
After a slow start, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points, five rebounds and five assists, and delivered an early-season highlight reel of clutch moments. That was his 26th 35-5-5 effort since the start of the 2023-24 season; only Nikola Jokić (29) and Luka Dončić (37) have more such outings over that span.
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Loser: Tari Eason
Eason was eligible for an extension this offseason, but did not come to an agreement with the Rockets before Monday's deadline. According to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports, the two sides were "far apart" in valuation. As a result, Eason will enter restricted free agency at the end of the season. If this past summer was any indication, that's not where players want to be in this era.
This is a big season for Eason to prove two things: 1) That he deserves a big contract next summer and 2) that he should remain a part of the Rockets' long-term plans. He got off to a terrible start on Tuesday, finishing with three points, five rebounds and three turnovers on 1 of 6 from the field, and it looked even worse than it sounds.
The Thunder completely ignored him on the perimeter, and he could not make them pay -- 1 of 4 from 3-point range -- which clogged up the Rockets' offense. At one point late in the first half, Kevin Durant tried to drive to the basket but had four Thunder defenders converge on him and had to kick it out. He tried to throw it to the corner, but Eason was standing 15 feet from the basket, right next to Alperen Sengun in the dunker spot, instead of in the corner behind the 3-point line. The Rockets ended up getting a decent look from the possession, but that moment showed some of the issues the Rockets and Eason may have this season.
Winner: Alperen Sengun and the jumbo Rockets
Sengun had an excellent showing at EuroBasket this summer, when he led Türkiye to the silver medal and their first trip to the podium at the event since 2001. It's always difficult to know how much stock to put into international tournaments, but in Sengun's case, it seems like it was a sign that he's ready to take the next step. He was incredible in Tuesday's opener: 39 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists on 12 of 24 (50%) from the field, including a career-high five 3-pointers.
There were large stretches where Sengun was the best player on the floor, and he came up with clutch moments every time the Rockets needed him. He could have had a game-winner in regulation if not for Gilgeous-Alexander's tying shot, then he tied the game himself at the end of the first overtime. In the second extra frame he was again a few seconds away from a game-winner until Gilgeous-Alexander stole his spotlight.
Sengun had the best individual performance for the Rockets, but he was also the centerpiece of their jumbo lineup. Every player in the Rockets' starting lineup on Tuesday was at least 6-foot-7, and the average height for that five-man group was a shade over 6-foot-10. While there were some spacing issues, they bludgeoned the Thunder on the glass. Most notably, they grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 24 second-chance points.
The Rockets may have lost the game, but it's clear that Sengun and their unconventional jumbo lineup are going to be a real problem for opponents.
Winner: Jonathan Kuminga
A comparison made frequently by both Steve Kerr and even the NBC broadcast on Tuesday is Jonathan Kuminga to Shawn Marion. The hope for the Warriors has been that Kuminga could grow into something like The Matrix: A star in his role rather than one who needs to monopolize an offense, someone who uses his athleticism for defense and cutting but can still get to the rim and make open 3s. It's an ambitious comparison given how uneven his first few years have been, but Tuesday was perhaps the most encouraging signal yet that somewhere within Kuminga lies a Marion-esque player.
He finished the win with 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and the numbers don't quite do the performance justice. Yes, the 3-point barrage in the third quarter was exciting, but it was a fairly quiet overall game in the best ways. Kuminga didn't hold the ball. He didn't gamble defensively. He did the little things well enough that he was able to earn the 32 minutes he needed to also do the bigger ones. This is the version of Kuminga that Golden State wants: The one who's comfortable doing whatever is needed.
It was obviously a contentious summer for Kuminga and the Warriors. It's widely assumed that he will eventually be traded. Maybe he will, but games like this will at least make the Warriors pause a bit. He just represents something that is so otherwise absent from this roster. He's really the only high-end athlete they have. He's their upside, and potentially their versatility. This version of Kuminga can make the Warriors a contender. Of course, we've said that plenty of times over the last several years. The question wasn't whether or not he could get here, but if he'd be able to stay here. Tuesday was a strong start and, if nothing else, it was proof that the Warriors plan to at least invest the sort of minutes into him that he'll need to take the step he's been hoping to take.
Loser: Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns
The Suns and Kings spent all summer trying to sign-and-trade for Kuminga. It's been widely presumed that they will try again when he's eventually eligible to be dealt again in the middle of the season. From their perspective, the best-case scenario here was a bad start. They want Kuminga's value low because they believe they can make the most of him by giving him the sort of role the Warriors thus far haven't. If he's playing like this? Well, it gets harder for the Warriors to justify trading him for the sort of offers the Kings and Suns made over the summer. They already believe in his upside. They didn't need to be convinced.
It's hard not to think of the D'Angelo Russell situation from 2020 here. The Warriors added him largely because they knew the Timberwolves wanted him. They eventually extracted Andrew Wiggins, who was essential to their 2022 title, and the pick that eventually became Kuminga in exchange for Russell. If that's the sort of price the Kings or Suns eventually have to pay to get Kuminga, well, the Warriors are winners no matter how he turns out on his next team. If they never trade him, it's probably because he keeps playing like he just did. Either way, this isn't exactly the opener Sacramento and Phoenix were hoping for.
Winner: Luka Dončić
Our first real look at skinny Luka Dončić was pretty darn impressive. Even in a loss, it's hard to get too upset about 43 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. He and Austin Reaves scored or assisted on all but 12 Laker points. He played 40 minutes, and while he was certainly winded for short stretches, it's worth noting that he had to play more than he expected because of foul trouble for Reaves. While he'll never be a stopper, he was about as good defensively as the Lakers could have hoped for given his prior performance.
The lone benefit to the absence of LeBron James early in the season is that it gives Dončić a chance to remind the basketball world just how dominant he can be when his usage is maximized. He's going to post monster numbers in these first few weeks. If he can do so while maintaining the defense and efficiency he showed tonight, he's going to be very prominent in the MVP conversation. More than that, he's selling himself to future teammates. It's no secret that the Lakers are hoarding their assets and cap space to eventually find him a post-LeBron sidekick. The best players in the league are going to see this version of Dončić and realize how terrifying they could be in a partnership with him.
Loser: LeBron James
When James opted into his contract in June, he emphasized in a statement how important it is to him that he spend his final years competing for championships. Well, Dončić aside, the Lakers didn't look remotely ready to do that on Tuesday. What's worse, they struggled for the same reasons that they always seem to struggle.
The shooting was a problem. The Lakers went 8 of 32 from deep. They can't find a trustworthy center not named Anthony Davis. Ayton was pretty underwhelming in his debut, securing only six rebounds, getting to the line just once and hardly impressing on defense. The perimeter defense was a problem. Marcus Smart is best suited defending forwards at this point, but so is everyone else on this roster. Jarred Vanderbilt is such a problem offensively that the Lakers can't really take advantage of his defense.
We're saying this tonight. We were saying it in 2024 ... and 2023 ... and 2022 ... and 2021 as well. Every October, like clockwork, we see the flaws in the roster that the Lakers have put around James. Dončić can frankly afford to be patient. He's only 26, and if the Dodgers are any indication, Mark Walter will put a first-class organization around him. But if James entered this season expecting to contend with the Lakers, Tuesday didn't exactly offer proof of concept.
