Category: NBA

Well that didn’t take long.

Two-time Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, making his Miami Heat regular-season debut Wednesday, Oct. 21 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, immediately imposed his will and erupted in the first half. The problem, however, for Antetokounmpo and the Heat is that the rest of the team fell woefully flat.

The Timberwolves, thanks to a 45-point outburst from All-Star guard Anthony Edwards and a 21-point showing from new guard LaMelo Ball, smoked the Heat, 131-106, in their regular season opener.

Antetokounmpo finished the game with 35 points on an efficient 13-of-19 shooting. He added 6 rebounds, but recorded only 1 assist, as many of his teammates missed their catch-and-shoot looks when Antetokounmpo found them. That was where Miami imploded: from deep.

The Heat shot just 8-of-33 (24.2%) from 3-point range, compared to Minnesota’s onslaught from beyond the arc, where the Timberwolves drained 21-of-50 (42%), creating a 39-point advantage on 3-pointers.

Antetokounmpo scored his first bucket just 13 seconds into the game, on a 16-foot pullup jumper he laced with ease after the Timberwolves dared him to shoot. That would be the last time Minnesota would do that. Antetokounmpo actually scored Miami’s first eight points of the game and dropped a 14-point quarter to introduce himself to his new fan base.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra empowered Antetokounmpo to handle the ball and attack the paint at will, especially in transition. Antetokounmpo, who played just 36 games last season in Milwaukee because of various calf injuries, used his size, handles and length to charge to the rim. Another byproduct: Antetokounmpo got to the line in the first half, hitting 5-of-8 attempts.

The Heat acquired Antetokounmpo in a June blockbuster deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

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Parking near Crypto.com Arena can cost Lakers fans an arm and a leg. Fortunately, Luka Doncic is picking up the tab.

Ahead of Wednesday night’s season opener against the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers superstar decided to make his first statement of the 2026-27 NBA season without even stepping onto the hardwood.

He put his money where his mouth is. 

According to the Lakers’ communications department, Doncic arranged free parking for fans at a lot near Crypto.com Arena and partnered with Metro Bike Share to offer complimentary rides throughout Los Angeles.

Doncic also purchased a full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times, delivering a passionate message to Lakers fans and pledging a relentless pursuit of an NBA championship.

It’s a savvy move from a superstar who understands that winning over Los Angeles requires more than dazzling passes, triple-doubles and expensive sneakers.

With LeBron James gone, the Lakers officially belong to Doncic. The franchise’s championship aspirations, its identity and the enormous expectations that accompany wearing purple and gold now rest squarely on his shoulders.

After a severe hamstring injury prematurely ended his 2025-26 campaign, Doncic enters this season with something to prove.

Of course, free parking won’t win playoff games, and a newspaper advertisement won’t hang another championship banner inside Crypto.com Arena.

But in a city where attending an NBA game for a family of four can feel like making a mortgage payment, Doncic’s generosity is a refreshing gesture.

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The champions were brought back down to earth. 

They believe they will be better off for it. 

“I think it’s good for us to kind of get knocked down off the mountain,” Jalen Brunson said after the Knicks’ 106-100 season-opening loss to the 76ers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. “Humble ourselves, put our egos in check and see what’s going to happen. I’ve told you guys since Day 1, whatever happens these first couple of weeks of the season, it’s gonna show who we truly are. So let’s see.” 

It only added to that dynamic that the 76ers — now with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown — have championship expectations and are considered one of the top threats to the Knicks’ chances of repeating. If the Knicks are now the hunted, it was an immediate litmus test against one of the most dangerous hunters. 

The pregame ceremony, when the Knicks raised the banner and collected their rings, was recognized by the players as the official end of the championship. They are no longer that team. They can’t just assume they will pick up right where they left off. 

And they don’t want to view themselves as champions. They’re back to square one, just like the rest of the NBA. 

“We shouldn’t sit there and think we’re the champions because we’re not,” Josh Hart said. “We’re 0-1. We’re the worst team in the NBA right now. So we need to play like it.” 

They were far from their normal standards in terms of pace, ball movement and help defending. Identifying those problems could be more beneficial in the long term than a regular-season win. 

“I want to win, don’t get me wrong,” coach Mike Brown said. “Don’t get that twisted at all. I want to freaking win, but not at the expense of us skipping steps in the process.” 

A bit of a humbling was an important part of that process. 

It’s finally time! After a long and arduous offseason, the 2026-27 NBA season has arrived, and with it the first game of the season for the Golden State Warriors, who visit the Los Angeles Lakers to kick off the year.

The Dubs, unfortunately, are far from at full strength for the first game of the year, while the Lakers are fairly healthy. Here’s the complete injury report for both teams.

Warriors

Out — Brandin Podziemski (bilateral low back soreness)

Podziemski figures to have a huge role in his fourth NBA season. He shined in the preseason, and recently inked a five-year, $110 million deal. So it’s a bummer that he’ll miss the opener, but after suffering from some back soreness late in camp, he won’t be able to suit up. Thankfully he isn’t expected to be out long.

Out — Charles Bassey (right patellar tendinopathy)

Bassey might have been in line to start tonight, as he did in the preseason finale, if he were healthy. Unfortunately, he suffered a mild injury in that finale, and that will cost him the opener. As with Podziemski, it’s not considered a serious injury, and he should be back on the court soon.

Out — Kristaps Porziņģis(not with team)

The latest news about Porziņģis isn’t good. He’s not with the team, the Warriors are already looking at trading his contract, and the Latvian All-Star is reportedly considering calling it a career. It’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever play for the Warriors again, and with both he and Bassey out, you can expect two-way center Graham Ike to get a lot of playing time.

Out — Jimmy Butler III (right ACL repair surgery)

No surprises here. Butler remains sidelined indefinitely, and is likely targeting a second-half return.

Out — Moses Moody (right patellar tendon repair surgery)

And no surprises here, either. Moody is likely a few months from returning from the knee injury that ended his 2025-26 season. There’s no set timetable yet.

Probable — Steph Curry (right ankle soreness)

When Curry limped off the court at open practice on Sunday, it seemed like he might be out for a while. Instead, he thankfully is expected to play in the opener.

Lakers

Out — Collin Sexton (right soleus strain)

Sexton figures to play a huge role in his first year with the purple and gold, but his debut will have to wait. He shouldn’t be sidelined long, but won’t play in the opener.

Out — Cameron Carr (right oblique strain)

Carr was a late first-round pick, following a breakout campaign at Baylor a year ago. He likely won’t have to wait long to make his NBA debut, but it won’t be tonight.

Out — Adou Thiero (left knee effusion swelling)

Thiero had a modest role last year with the Lakers, appearing in 25 games and averaging 6.0 minutes per game in his rookie season. He’ll look to build on that this year, but will have to wait as it won’t happen tonight.

Available — Walker Kessler (left finger splint)

LA’s big offseason acquisition was a question mark in the days leading up to the opener, but has now been cleared to play. The Warriors have a serious disadvantage in the paint between Kessler’s availability and their own lack of centers.

Enjoy the game, everyone! It tips off at 7:00 p.m. PT on ESPN.

Warriors' Yaxel Lendeborg ‘lost all respect' for Luka Dončić in fiery NBA debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

LOS ANGELES – Yaxel Lendeborg isn’t someone who grew up watching NBA games from start to finish across the league. He’s part of a new generation – the highlight generation. 

Among the many players Lendeborg loved watching highlights of, Luka Dončić always has been at the top of his list. Not anymore. 

After one regular-season game in the NBA, the Warriors rookie has a much different outlook on the Los Angeles Lakers superstar. 

“Being in there firsthand, just watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect, man,” Lendeborg said after the Warriors’ blowout loss to the Lakers on Wednesday night in the 2026-27 NBA regular-season opener at Crypto.com Arena. “That was awful. Like, me getting frustrated, it’s not about the foul being called, it’s about him complaining the entire game. And then you get the foul called, congratulations bro. 

“You want to talk to me like you did something great? C’mon dog. That’s just weak. It kind of threw me off for a little while, because, like I said, I had so much respect for him. Gone, man. Gone.” 

The shorthanded Warriors were waxed by the Lakers in an ugly 127-105 loss that could be the first glimpse of a long season. They trailed by one point after the first quarter, but the story of the game began in the second when Lendeborg and Dončić began trading barbs up and down the court on multiple occasions. 

Once it began, there was no stopping the two of them from letting the trash talk flow relentlessly. Dončić, who scored 28 points in 29 minutes on 7-of-18 shooting and went 5 of 12 from 3-point range, said Lendeborg was “talking crazy.” He didn’t divulge much more into what Lendeborg was saying.

But the already best and most honest quote in the NBA didn’t leave anything to the imagination at the podium. 

“I was telling him he sucks,” Lendeborg said. “He can’t score on me. You’re talking? You can’t score on me. I said it the whole game. I said a couple cuss words, obviously, that’s why I got the technical and all that. But I was letting him know because he was laughing and talking all this because of that one foul call. His only bucket on me was a banker from halfcourt. 

“I know that it’s a team sport. He had 28 on us as a team. Me, I took my matchup personally. Tried not to get called on the fouls. Tried my best. I was thinking about playing him with my hands by my back to see if that worked. I would have still got a foul called.”

Defending Dončić full-court, Lendeborg was physical with the six-time NBA All-Star who knows every trick in the book to get a whistle and make his way to the free-throw line. Lendeborg outwardly showed frustration, but he didn’t show any inclination of backing down. 

The trash talk continued when Lendeborg wasn’t even in the game. In one instance, Dončić scored a three in front of the Warriors’ bench and pointed right at Lendeborg, who brought the smack right back.

When Lendeborg returned, he continued battling Dončić and locked him up from long distance. On the way down the court, the talk increased and that’s when he was given the first technical foul of his NBA career. 

Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t agree with the call, saying postgame that it at least should have been a double technical, with Dončić also being dinged. 

“He got the rookie treatment,” Kerr said. 

And Kerr also expressed he “loved” the back and forth between the two players, and the fearless attitude his rookie displayed. To Kerr, this was a debut full of lessons for Lendeborg, who was a minus-21 in 28 minutes with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and four personal fouls. 

“He bit on a pump fake, he got a couple that were tough calls, but he’s probably going to have to learn,” Kerr said. “Those are calls that are made in the NBA, so you have to actually give ground in certain spots. … These vets, these superstars are going to play tricks on him, and he’s got to learn those tricks.” 

Whether it’s a rookie like Lendeborg or a veteran with more than a decade of experience, Dončić is going to get his. He’s a two-time scoring champion, including last season when he averaged 33.5 points per game. 

Yet Lendeborg, despite being whistled more than once guarding Dončić, did his job admirably against an all-time great. Lendeborg held Dončić to 1-of-6 shooting when he was his primary defender. The one made shot was a half-court buzzer-beater going into halftime. 

“Everybody’s going to be like, ‘Oh man, he shouldn’t talk to Luka. You should not talk to Luka,’ and I disagree with that s–t 1,000 percent,” Draymond Green said in the locker room. “You f–king gon’ talk to somebody, you talk until you can’t f–king talk no more. And if he busts your ass, guess what? You play him again three more times, and you go back at his ass again. And then you see him the third time, and you go back at his ass again. 

“I think in this league, everybody always be like, ‘Oh man, certain guys you gotta respect.’ I ain’t come in this league like that. Respect, you earn respect. So, you know, everybody’s like, ‘Oh man, the rookie learned his lesson.’ What did he learn? Next time you see him, go at his ass again.”

So with that, what exactly did Lendeborg learn in his first NBA game then? 

“Lot of flopping, lot of foul-baiting, lot of praying to the refs,” he said. “Interesting first game.” 

Next up on the Warriors’ schedule is their home opener against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at Chase Center, when Lendeborg can renew his rivalry with No. 3 pick Cam Boozer. Then comes Devin Booker and the Suns in Phoenix, Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets in Denver, and Anthony Edwards and the new-look Timberwolves in Minnesota before coming home to play Dončić and the Lakers again in San Francisco. 

All it took was one game for Lendeborg to have a giant target on his back. His teammates, notably Green and Steph Curry, believe he’s up for the task at hand. 

“He’s setting the table for himself to have to show up, and I like that,” Curry said. “Nature of the game, whether you do it between your ears or you let it out, I know he’ll be able to back it up.” 

His game will have to do as much talking as his mouth while Lendeborg’s rookie year progresses, and he already gave everyone numerous reasons to circle the Warriors’ next game against the Lakers in less than two weeks.

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Doug Christie urges Kings to ‘calm down' after loss to Clippers in season opener originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Kings’ season opener got away from them in a hurry. Doug Christie wants them to calm down.

Sacramento trailed 41-29 after the first quarter Wednesday night, and that came against a Clippers team missing Brandon Ingram, Max Strus and Bradley Beal. The Kings trimmed the deficit to five early in the third quarter but never led, and Los Angeles pulled away for a 121-96 win at Intuit Dome.

It was not the group Sacramento planned to open with. Malik Monk was ruled out with left ankle soreness shortly before tip-off, and Ben Simmons is out for the season after tearing his Achilles in Sunday’s practice.

Christie did not point to the absences afterward. He pointed to the defense first.

“Got to be able to keep people in front of you,” Christie said. “It comes from the pride of defensive intensity, keeping the ball in front of you.”

The Clippers scored 27 fastbreak points, 19 of them in the first half. Christie did not hide his reaction to that number.

“They had 27 fastbreak points, just unacceptable,” Christie conceded.

Christie traced the problem to the other end of the floor. He said the Kings cut the deficit to five, 61-56, but lacked the ball movement to build on it.

“Sometimes we were just letting our offense affect our defense, and it just can’t happen,” Christie added.

His fix is built around patience. Christie said the opposition would be happy to see the Kings settle for contested mid-range shots, and he wants them to keep driving and kicking instead.

“We have to continue to trust the process of winning the close-out, attacking the rim. If somebody collapses, spray the ball out,” Christie said. “Just keep continuing on down, drive, kick, swing.”

The reward, he said, is a better look.

“If we continue to drive, kick, swing, we are probably going to end up with a very high shot quality of a 3-pointer, hopefully it’s a corner three, which is the highest percentage shot,” Christie said. “It takes patience and poise to continue when you look up, and there’s 10 seconds on the clock. Don’t freak out, calm down, there’s probably two more drive-kick-swings in that.”

Christie also tied the free throws to the transition problem. When Sacramento makes its free throws, he said, the defense is set instead of scrambling back, and the Kings missed 12 of them on a night when the Clippers kept running.

“We missed 12 free throws, and that is not something that just, like, popped up,” Christie added. “We haven’t been good in the preseason shooting free throws, so there’s a level of concentration, a level of confidence that you have to have when you step to the line and knock them down.”

The Kings did get a few strong individual nights. Domantas Sabonis, playing his first game since Feb. 4, had 18 rebounds, a Sacramento-era record for a season opener, and Zach LaVine scored 28 points. Christie’s focus afterward, though, was on the team’s habits, not the box score.

Rookie Darius Acuff Jr., the No. 7 overall pick, took a game-high 24 shots in his NBA debut and made five of them, going 0-of-7 from 3-point range. Christie did not mention Acuff by name, but his plea for patience and better shot quality might apply to a night like that.

After a night when everything came too fast for Sacramento, Christie wants his team to calm down and trust the pass. The Kings get their first chance to show it Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers at Golden 1 Center for their home opener.

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This was their celebration, not his. 

Andre Drummond stayed back in the locker room while the Knicks raised their championship banner and collected their rings ahead of their 106-100 season-opening loss to the 76ers. 

“I feel like I gotta earn it,” Drummond said. “I don’t want to experience something that I wasn’t there for.” 

He is the lone newcomer among the 10 Knicks to see the court on Tuesday. He is a non-champion surrounded by champions. He’s tasked with replacing a beloved fan favorite in Mitchell Robinson, who was the longest-tenured Knick before he left in free agency for the Celtics. 

“I want to be able to experience that [celebration] because I was a part of it,” Drummond said. “I let those guys have their moment.” 

But it wasn’t long until he was having his own moment. 

Drummond was a rare bright spot in an otherwise ugly Knicks showing, recording 12 points, 14 rebounds (seven offensive) and four assists against his old 76ers team. He had a first-half double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

He never had any double-doubles in a half all of last year. “An-dre Drumm-ond” chants reverberated around MSG, as the fans were loving what they were seeing from their new big man. 

“It was pretty surreal,” Drummond said. “Just the energy of the arena, just because of how hard I was working, how hard I was playing, just to hear it, I can’t even really explain it. I got chills. Something you live for as a player, hearing the fans be behind you. 

“This arena’s electric. Just doing hard work and aggressive plays gets the crowd going, so it gets me going too.” 

The majority of his action came in the first half, where he played 16 minutes compared to Karl-Anthony Towns’ six. Towns got into early foul trouble — something that became routine last year — and was forced to the bench. 

Those long stretches on the court aren’t the ideal workload for Drummond — and perhaps a reason his production waned in the second half. 

“I thought he played with a lot of bounce, energy, in the first half on both ends of the floor,” coach Mike Brown said. “We probably ran him too long because it looked like in the second half, not just him but especially our five starters, it looked like he ran out of a little bit of gas. I gotta keep getting to know him to see where the minutes may lie for him to be effective. But I thought he was really, really, really good in the first half.” 

That feeling-out-process will be a season-long journey. For a Knicks group that has so much continuity, Drummond represents one of the rare opportunities for change and fresh ideas. 

He is similar to Robinson in that he is one of the most prolific rebounders in the league. He is not the rim protector or help defender Robinson is, but is more of a threat with the ball in his hands on the offensive end. 

Brown is still learning how best to utilize that skill set. 

“I think it’s been fun for both of us because, obviously, yes, he’s still trying to get to know me and vice versa, I’m trying to get to know him as a coach,” Drummond said. “I think we surprise each other on a daily basis on the different things that I’m capable of doing as a player. And obviously, the way his coaching style is too, the freedom I have too, is a little bit different. It’s like a tug-and-pull every time we step on the floor with each other. … It’s cool to have the freedom to play the way I want to play, be able to use my experience and my veteran leadership to play the way I want to play but also play the way he wants me to.” 

A Mount Vernon native, Drummond is already feeling at home. 

“This is a great team,” Drummond said. “Great core group. They’ve done a great job of incorporating me into the group and making me feel like I’m one of them.” 

He shouldn’t just feel like he’s one of them — he now firmly is one of them. 

An important one. 

The Dallas Mavericks start the 2026-27 season by visiting the Houston Rockets. After playing twice in the preseason in Macau, these two face off twice in the first 10 days of the season. Divisional rivals playing four times in a month? Familiarity breeds contempt, even when two of the games were just tune ups. Here’s the main things you need to know tonight.

• WHO: Dallas Mavericks at Houston Rockets
• WHAT: Game 1, Lock in folks!
• WHERE: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
• WHEN: 7:30 pm CST
• HOW: KFAA

On the injury front, Dereck Lively and Santi Aldama start the year on the injury report with long known about issues, though Coach Dusty May insists that Aladama is close to taking the court. New addition Tarik Biberovic will miss the contest with heel bursitis, which doesn’t sound comfortable. Caleb Martin will also miss the game with a thumb sprain.

As of this writing, Steven Adams is questionable for the Rockets with calf tightness. That’s one of those areas teams don’t mess around with, so unless he feels great, I actually would bet he misses the game.

Newly signed two-way guard Walter Clayton Jr. will be with Dallas and available tonight.

These two teams are in very different places in the team cycle. Dallas is trying to claw their way out of the bottom five in the Western Conference. The Rockets had an embarassing post-season exit, but were injury laden last season and hope to finish among the league’s elite with a talented, but mercurial squad. Keep an eye on the Dallas rotations and the Maverick defense tonight. The latter will take weeks to sort itself out but I’m curious what combinations May tried. The latter was very bad for most of the preseason and I expect them to pick up the pace.

If you’re checking out this post, it’s for one of two reasons:

• Injury report news
• Discussion and comment thread

If you’re part of the former, please consider signing up for an account. You get way fewer ads, and you can comment! If you’re part of the latter group: GO GET THE APP. I’m serious. The app has some real-time features specifically for game threads like this one and you can comment and get notified really, really easily. It’s part of what’s keeping this whole series of sites going. So go do it for us and in doing so, you’ll see why the experience is simply better.

Consider joining me on Pod Maverick live after the game on YouTube; I will be going live tonight after the game and it’s the show where I need y’all to join and participate!

Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks

October 21, 2026

Location: Toyota Center, Houston, TX

Time: 7:30 PM CST

TV:Space City Home Network

Radio:KBME Sports Talk 790 / KLTN 102.9 (en español)

Probable Starters

Rockets: Fred Vanvleet, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun

Mavericks: Kyrie Irving, Zaccharie Risacher, Cooper Flag, P.J. Washington Jr., Daniel Gafford

The Rockets are kicking off the new season tonight! Join us at TDS or on the SB Nation app to talk game all night.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Clippers are doing their part and trying to welcome fans back to the Intuit Dome to start the 2026-27 season with select promotions on Wednesday, October 21.

The Clippers will host the Sacramento Kings in a Pacific Division battle.

The Clippers will have new faces on the court this season, having essentially hit the restart button with their roster. The team moved on from notable players such as Kawhi Leonard and James Harden over the past season and got younger in the process.

The Clippers drafted Keaton Wagler out of Illinois with the fifth overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft. The team also acquired Rui Hachimura as a free agent during the offseason.

Here's everything you need to know about the promotions on opening night:

New jerseys, new court, new Nets. Right?

It’s a new era in Brooklyn, an uncertain one, but one in which the Nets aren’t trying to lose games to improve their draft position. That was the reality over the past two seasons.

Now, the Nets are building around Egor Dëmin and Mikel Brown Jr. — their two lottery picks from the 2025 and 2026 Drafts, respectively. Three-time All-Star Julius Randle is a new face to watch. Other new faces such as Keon Ellis and Mo Wagner offer intrigue.

The Nets will need to be solid defensively in order to create in the open floor, which will be an advantage for a team with an average age of 24.3 years.

On the other side, the Charlotte Hornets are coming off a dramatic offseason. LaMelo Ball and Josh Green were traded in exchange for Naz Reid, a 2033 first-round pick, three second-round picks and three future first-round pick swaps. Subsequently, the Timberwolves sent Randle and the draft rights to Joshua Jefferson to the Nets in exchange for the draft rights to guard Isaiah Evans, as part of a four-team trade involving Brooklyn and Chicago.

The Hornets won’t have Kon Knueppel, Coby White, or Grant Williams in this one.

Game Info & Broadcast Details

• Who: Charlotte Hornets (0-0) at Brooklyn Nets (0-0)
• What: Opening Night
• Time: 7:30 PM ET
• TV/Streaming: YES & DAZN
• Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY

Injury Report: Who’s Out?

Brooklyn Nets:

• Tayler Bilodeau: OUT (Right Shoulder Sprain)

Charlotte Hornets:

• Kon Knueppel: OUT (left hamstring)
• Coby White: OUT (left calf)
• Grant Williams: OUT (right hamstring)

Game Preview | Jordan Greene

“Mikel Brown Jr. will not be in the starting lineup… the Nets performance team is being cautious. MBJ will play with a minutes restriction and off the bench. His first official minutes as an NBA player will begin when he’s introduced not as a starter but from the bench. Think 24 minutes. That should still be enough to get his feet wet against NBA level competition…”

💬 Discussion

Share your thoughts and react, but please be respectful. NetsDaily prides itself on being a safe space for Nets and basketball fans alike to have healthy conversation. Reach out to Anthony Puccio or Net Income with any issues.

LOS ANGELES — The word of the year for the Warriors: Availability.

Before they could even take the court Wednesday night to open their season against the Lakers, who wasn’t in uniform was already as much of a talking point as anybody who was.

A quick recap of the week that was leading up to tipoff:

• Steph Curry gave fans in attendance for a light-hearted open practice a heart attack when he pulled up gimpy and limped off the court. Conditioned to fear for the worst, they let out a collective sigh of relief when it was revealed only to be a mild ankle tweak.
• Brandin Podziemski, one of 18 players not to miss a game last season, was ruled out for opening night because of back soreness, and Charles Bassey, their one center who isn’t over the age of 40 or dealing with a mysterious illness, was also unable to go with knee tendinitis.
• Then, an ESPN report surfaced that the issue preventing Kristaps Porzingis from playing also has him “seriously contemplating his future in basketball.”

How’s that for a tone-setter for the season ahead on opening night?

If there was one game that we could reasonably expect to see the Warriors at full strength, it would have been the first one of the season. If Golden State can’t even enter the season healthy, how is this all going to play out over the 81 games that follow?

While Curry walked away from his practice scare, the Warriors still need to manage his playing time — along with Draymond Green and Al Horford, at a minimum — to keep him healthy and fresh at age 38 with a knee issue that gets worse with overuse.

For as underwhelming as last season may have been, the Warriors wouldn’t have even qualified for the play-in without Podziemski picking up the slack during Curry’s absence.

He was the Warriors’ one ironman in a sea of DNPs.

Podziemski was going to be asked to play an even bigger role this season, as indicated by the $110 million extension he signed a week before opening night. But in his first chance to prove he’s worth the money, Podziemski was forced to watch from the bench in street clothes.

Bassey is almost as essential in the Warriors’ ability to get through the season. He may not make or break the outcome on opening night, but Golden State will need his size when Horford and Porzingis aren’t able to go, which is expected to be on a regular basis — if not nightly, in Porzingis’ case.

The situation with the Latvian big man got even murkier hours before tipoff when the Warriors responded to the ESPN report with their second statement in as many weeks. According to ESPN, they have begun to explore trading Porzingis after he caught them off guard when his illness cropped up before training camp.

While the Warriors declined to comment “on trade speculation or reports regarding his health-related matter or future,” they added that they were “not anticipating Kristaps being around the team in the immediate future.” That’s a notable shift from last week, after Porzingis met with team doctors, when they said that although he would remain out indefinitely, he would “be around the team.”

Porzingis didn’t accompany the team to Los Angeles, where the Warriors and Lakers were shielded inside Crypto.com Area from the stormy conditions outside.

But Golden State couldn’t escape the dark cloud casting a shadow over its season on opening night.

The Dallas Mavericks signed Walter Clayton Jr. to a two-way contract on Wednesday, adding the No. 18 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft to the team’s final roster.

Clayton joins the Mavericks after a rookie season where he averaged 7.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists across 69 games for the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies. He was a part of the package Memphis received in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade and averaged 9.7 points and 5.6 assists a game in 24 games, including six starts, for the Grizzlies.

Memphis waived him on Monday after failing to find a trade partner for the 2025 first-round pick. Dallas picked him up after he cleared league waivers on Wednesday.

Clayton struggled to find a groove for most of his rookie season, but seemed to find his footing towards the end of the season. He scored in double figures in 11 of his last 18 games and shot 47% from the field and 50% from 3-point range in April to bring his percentages up to 37% and 30% for his rookie year.

Per the NBA’s two-way contract rules, Clayton is eligible to appear in up to 50 games for the Mavericks this season but would be ineligible for any postseason/play-in games unless Dallas were to convert him to a full-time contract. He will earn half of the NBA’s rookie-scale salary this season.

Clayton adds depth a depleted Mavericks backcourt and could see playing time quickly as Dallas looks to solidify the team’s bench rotation when Kyrie Irving is not on the floor. Clayton was named the Most Outstanding Player in the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament after helping lead the University of Florida to a national championship.

Clayton averaged 18.3 points a game for the Gators en route to the school’s third national title.

Late add: It appears that Clayton will not only be with the team in Houston for the season opener at the Rockets on Wednesday, just hours after signing the two-way deal, but he will be active, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

The Washington Wizards play the Milwaukee Bucks tonight at Capital One Arena. Tip off is at 7 p.m. ET on Monumental Sports Network. Preview the game here.

Let’s go 1-0 to start off the 2026-27 season, even if AJ Dybantsa will miss the game.