NBA Opening Day

October 18th was the first day of the NBA Basketball season. It also commences the league’s 77th season. The first games played to kick off this year were the Lakers vs. the Warriors and the Celtics vs. the 76ers.

For the first game of the opening day, the Boston Celtics matched up against the Philadelphia 76ers at home. The Celtics are coming off of a great playoff run. In the first round, they swept the Brooklyn Nets. Then in the second round, they beat Giannis and the Bucks in game 7. After facing the Bucks, they won another game seven against the Miami Heat. Finally, they took a tough loss against the Warriors and Steph Curry in the NBA Finals, losing two games to four. The Sixers-Celtics game was the beginning of James Hardens first full season as a 76er. Last season, he was traded from Brooklyn at the trade deadline for Ben Simmons. This 76ers team is also led by big man Joel Embid, who is coming off an excellent season last year. James Harden put on a show, scoring 35 points, seven assists, and 12 for 12 at the line. The Celtics this season are led by the young star Jason Tatum, who is coming off a good season last year. Another leader on this team is Jaylen Brown, who also played very well last year. Tatum led the C’s in this game with 35 points and 12 rebounds. Although the 76ers played a good match and Harden had a great performance, it wasn’t enough to beat Tatum and the Celtics. The final score was 117-126.

For the final game of the day, the reigning champion Golden State Warriors faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers at home. The Warriors are coming off a tremendous championship season led by legendary point guard Steph Curry. As mentioned previously, they beat the second east seed, Boston Celtics, last season. This was the 4th championship of his career, and Curry was rewarded with his first-ever NBA Finals MVP. Before the game, they had their ring ceremony. During the ceremony, Curry gave a shoutout to Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner on her 32nd birthday, recognizing her as an influential figure in the warrior’s organization. Griner was an All-Star and Champion in the WNBA before being detained in Russia in February of this year for illegally possessing half a gram of cannabis oil and a vape cartridge. The Lakers were led by veteran legend LeBron James, who is now 37 years old and in his 20th season in the league. He scored 31 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. On the other hand, the Warriors were led by Stephen Curry, going into his 14th season in the league. He had 33 points and seven assists. Although LeBron put up very impressive numbers to lead his team in scoring, they still lost. The final score was 109-123. In a post-game interview, when asked about the ring ceremony, Curry said: “It’s hard to turn the page and go play Basketball, but we figured out a way to do it and get a good win, and now we can look forward to the rest of the year.” Just by the performances of the first few days, I can’t wait to see how the season turns out.