The NBA season got started in a big way last night. Anthony Davis absolutely dominated the Orlando Magic, putting up 26 points, 17 rebounds, two assists, nine blocks and three steals, in which the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Magic 101-84.
The San Antonio Spurs hung their fifth title banner since 1999 and flashed their championship rings as they took on Dallas at home. The Spurs, playing without Tiago Splitter and Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, outlasted the visiting Mavericks by a score of 101-100 in what turned out to be there 17th victory out of their last 18 season-openers.
In the late game at Staples Center, the Houston Rockets handled the Lakers quite easily, winning 108-90. Perhaps the most entertaining part of that game was the scrum between former teammates Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.
Making the blowout loss even worse, the Lakers lost their prized rookie Julius Randle for what is being said as the entire season. Randle broke his tibia midway through the fourth quarter in the first NBA game in his career. You can check out some fun facts from last night’s games here.
To get fans ready for their season debuts, players around the league posted pictures to their Instagram accounts asking if the fans were ready for the season to start and showing their excitement for the upcoming campaign.
Andre Drummond posted this photo to his Instagram Wednesday, saying he was blessed for the opportunity with the Detroit Pistons and to begin his third year in the league. His opponent Wednesday night, the Denver Nuggets, had their own cheerleader.
Kenneth Faried would like Nuggets fans to #UNLEASHTHEMANIMAL. The Team USA teammates in the 2014 FIBA World Cup square off against one another as the Pistons visit the Nuggets in their season openers.
Another rising star entering his third season is Damian Lillard with the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard, debuting his first signature shoe, shared this photo to get fans ready to rock the Moda Center tonight.
“#RipCity… Let’s do it!”, Lillard captioned for the photo. Portland faces the Oklahoma City Thunder in a huge Northwest Divisional matchup to start the year for each team.
The NBA is here to stay for the better part of the next eight months, and this is just the beginning. There are plenty of amazing story lines that will be followed throughout the course of the year. Here’s to basketball being back.