Written with the help of artificial-intelligence tools and checked by automated controls.
The NBA season got underway with two fairly clear messages: Oklahoma has forgotten nothing about its spring defeat to San Antonio, and Philadelphia was not intimidated by the celebration organized in New York. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs fell to the Thunder, 116-104, while the Sixers spoiled the ring ceremony for the Knicks, the defending champions, by winning 106-100 at Madison Square Garden.
Oklahoma resets the clock
The context made the meeting between the Thunder and the Spurs particularly charged.
The context made the meeting between the Thunder and the Spurs particularly charged. San Antonio had eliminated Oklahoma at the end of the Western Conference finals the previous season, before losing the NBA Finals to New York. For this opener, the Thunder seized control from the outset and never allowed the Spurs to establish their rhythm.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set the tone with 32 points, six rebounds and four assists. The two-time MVP was the face of a more aggressive team, attentive to every transition and determined not to turn this early-season matchup into a trip down memory lane. Oklahoma built its lead, then protected it without rushing when San Antonio tried to come back.
Wembanyama endured a tougher evening. Against a defense prepared to close off the paint and provide plenty of help, the Frenchman could not find the space that had carried the Spurs to the Finals a few months earlier. His team also paid the price for several stretches of poor shooting and a lack of offensive continuity. One game does not write a season, but the Thunder’s revenge had a very tangible flavor.
The Sixers cool off the Garden
In New York, the pregame belonged to the Knicks. The rings were handed out, the championship banner joined the rafters and Madison Square Garden celebrated a team that had just won the title. Then the ball was put in play, and Philadelphia refused to play the role of the polite extra.
Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points and took responsibility during the decisive stretches. The Sixers finished the game particularly well, taking advantage of a less accurate New York offense after halftime. Jalen Brunson scored 21 points for the Knicks, but his shooting—six made shots on nineteen attempts—symbolized an evening in which the champions never found their usual fluidity.
LeBron James, who arrived in Philadelphia during the summer, contributed 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. In his 24th season, his role looked more like that of an organizer capable of restoring order than a soloist tasked with solving everything. The Sixers handed out 28 assists, a number that tells the story of their victory better than their star’s points alone.
Two signals, not yet verdicts
Oklahoma reminded everyone that it remains one of the strongest contenders in the West, and San Antonio already knows that its path to the top will be closely watched. Wembanyama does not need a perfect evening to make an impact over a season, but the Thunder showed the formula: defend hard, contest near the rim and force the Spurs to find other solutions.
In the East, the Sixers leave with a prestigious win and the Knicks with an early warning, without the banner hanging from the rafters losing an ounce of value. Time will tell whether Philadelphia already has the consistency of a contender, but its opening performance at least shifted the mood: in New York, the ceremony was over, and the championship had begun again.