The 2026-27 NBA season is officially underway, and the league already has a multitude of storylines to watch. Obviously, it would be short-sighted to judge any team or player on one performance, but the first slate of games still offers some interesting takeaways (and maybe slight overreactions!).
The season kicked off on Tuesday afternoon with the Boston Celtics visiting the Detroit Pistons. Boston shook things up this offseason by trading their former Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown, to the Philadelphia 76ers for a package that included Paul George. The Celtics led by as much as 22 points behind an impressive 38-point debut from George, but gave up a shocking 28-3 run in the 4th quarter, enabling a Detroit victory. It will certainly be interesting to see the dynamic between George and star forward Jayson Tatum, who shot a terrible 6/23 from the field in the loss.
The Philadelphia 76ers came into the season with the most hype, and for good reason. The newly acquired Brown and free-agent signing LeBron James rounded out a star-studded starting five that already featured former MVP Joel Embiid, all-star Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. The defending champions, the New York Knicks, hosted Philadelphia, who took some of the joy out of their ring ceremony with a 106-100 win. Maxey and Brown led the way with 28 and 19 points, respectively. There was never any doubt the 76ers have an incredibly high ceiling when healthy, but staying on the court may be a big challenge. Embiid is notoriously injury-prone and has missed more than half of the 76ers’ regular-season games in each of the past three seasons, while the 41-year-old James continues to test the limits of ‘Father Time.’ Whether they can keep up when their star center is missing time will likely influence their regular-season success in what’s shaping up to be a competitive Eastern Conference.
Wednesday’s primetime matchup featured the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat, two teams with notable offseason moves of their own. While Giannis Antetokounmpo showed out in his Heat debut with an efficient 35 points, it wasn’t enough to save the team from a 25-point blowout loss on their home floor. LaMelo Ball scored 21 points and six assists in his first game for Minnesota, and superstar shooting guard Anthony Edwards shined with 45 points. If Ball can take pressure off Edwards and some ball-handling duties while adding volume scoring of his own, the Wolves may be better equipped to stack up against the powerhouses of the Western Conference. On the other side of the court, Miami’s defeat came partly from their abysmal 3-point shooting, a preseason concern. With neither Antetokounmpo nor star center Bam Adebayo seen as particularly threatening from outside, shooting from role players like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Klay Thompson may prove crucial to whether the Heat’s offense reaches its full potential this year.