DUBAI: All eyes were on LeBron James as the 2026-27 NBA season tipped off, with the league’s all-time leading scorer making a winning debut for the Philadelphia 76ers in his record 24th season.
The 41-year-old finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the new-look Sixers defeated defending champions the New York Knicks 106-100 at Madison Square Garden.
Elsewhere on opening night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder past the San Antonio Spurs, while the Detroit Pistons overturned a 22-point deficit to beat the Boston Celtics.
James, who joined Philadelphia after seven seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, became the first player in NBA history to reach 24 seasons in the league. He marked the milestone by wearing a special-edition 24th-season jersey patch, which he will wear throughout the 2026-27 season.
Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 28 points, while fellow new arrival Jaylen Brown added 19 and Joel Embiid scored 13 as the Sixers spoiled a night that began with the Knicks raising their championship banner and receiving their rings.
Philadelphia’s defense proved crucial, with the Sixers limiting New York to 42 points in the second half following an adjustment that saw James defend Karl-Anthony Towns while Embiid, who was in foul trouble, was given more freedom away from the Knicks center.
James said the victory was only a first step for a team still learning to play together. “It’s going to take some time,” he said. “It’s just one game, but obviously we can learn from the good things that we did.
“We’re still new to each other. We will have some bumps in the road at times. But I mean, I think tonight when we had those bumps in the road, we were able to use what happened previously and then make the adjustment.”
Brown, who won the NBA championship with Boston in 2024, also believes there is plenty more to come.
“We’re not even at the tip of the iceberg in terms of building chemistry, understanding yourself on the floor, understanding our spacing,” Brown said. “Like, we’re still at the very early stages of what we could possibly be.”
The NBA entered the new season with 125 international players from a record-tying 43 countries on opening-night rosters, highlighting the NBA’s growing international presence.
Speaking to international media ahead of the season, NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum said the global growth of basketball was contributing to the level of talent across the league.
“The level of talent and competition across the league are at an all-time high,” Tatum said. “The growth of the game globally really is a big reason why.”
The winners of the past eight NBA MVP awards were all born outside the US.
“These players not only generate interest amongst fans from their respective countries and regions, but they’re superstars who resonate with billions of NBA fans globally,” Tatum said.
“There’s never been a better time to be an international NBA fan, but even with everything that we’re doing to engage the billions of passionate fans around the world, we still believe that we’re just scratching the surface of how popular this game and this league can be on a global basis.”
That international influence was evident in the final game of the opening-night tripleheader as Canadian star Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City to a 116-104 victory over Frenchman Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio. The game was a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals when San Antonio eliminated Oklahoma City.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the back-to-back NBA MVP, led all scorers with 32 points, shooting 13-of-27 from the field.
Oklahoma City took control in the first half and led by as many as 26 points before San Antonio fought back to reduce the deficit to single digits.
Wembanyama endured a difficult shooting night, missing his first 12 attempts from the field before finishing with 12 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks.
Stephon Castle led San Antonio with 24 points, while Dylan Harper added 18.
“Obviously this is the team that eliminated us from achieving our goal but for us I think it was more we’re just happy to be back,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s a longer summer when you don’t win, and we felt that this summer. So yeah, we’re just happy to be back. One of 82 ... we took a step in the right direction.”
The disappointment of last season’s playoff exit has provided additional motivation for the Thunder.
“This group’s hungry. This group wants more. This group’s not satisfied, and a little bit more so than in the past — I can feel it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We feel it in the building. We feel it in the facility. We want more. We want to get better every day.”
Detroit overturned a 22-point second-half deficit to defeat Boston 121-113 in the first game of the season.
The Pistons trailed 72-50 with 8:32 remaining in the third quarter and were still 10 points behind with 8:19 left in the fourth before scoring 23 unanswered points in a five-minute stretch to take control.
The comeback was the largest on the opening day of an NBA season since the play-by-play era began in 1997-98.
Jalen Duren had 22 points and nine rebounds for Detroit, while Cade Cunningham added 22 points and eight assists. Duncan Robinson scored 21 and Javonte Green added 19, with both making five three-pointers.
“When we outwork you, we’re going to be hard to beat,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.
Paul George impressed on his Boston debut despite the defeat, scoring a game-high 38 points, including seven three-pointers. His total was the most by a player on his Celtics debut, surpassing the 30 scored by Kristaps Porzingis in 2023.
Jayson Tatum finished with 13 points and a game-high 11 assists but struggled with his shot, going 6-of-23 from the field and missing all seven of his three-point attempts.
The opening-night victories for Philadelphia, Oklahoma City and Detroit provided an early glimpse of a season that Mark Tatum believes will again highlight the NBA’s depth of talent and growing international reach.