NBA Opening Night consisted of four Western Conference teams who all have championship aspirations going up against one another.
Things tipped off in Colorado with the defending champion Denver Nuggets destroying the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals. Nikola Jokic showed MVP form, and Anthony Davis came up small.
The nightcap saw Kevin Durant and his Phoenix Suns visit the Golden State Warriors. In what was a much better game, Phoenix pulled off a 108-104 win over the Warriors. Devin Booker came up big, both hitting shots and dishing out the assists. Meanwhile, Andrew Wiggins was nowhere to be found for the Dubs.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from NBA Opening Night Tuesday evening around the Association.
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Winner: Aaron Gordon has great all-around game for Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets have been relying on Gordon to do a bit of everything on the court. This came out in droves during the NBA Finals when the forward averaged 14.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists on 60% shooting from the field.
This iteration of Gordon showed up on NBA Opening Night with the former lottery pick hitting on 7-of-11 from the field while adding 15 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals. He also didn’t turn the ball over a single time while helping with ball movement throughout.
Just look at that execution. Teamwork makes dreamwork. Gordon has bought into that with Denver since being acquired from the Orlando Magic. That was magnified Tuesday night as the Nuggets won their opener.
Loser: Kevin Durant struggles in return to the Bay
Durant’s Phoenix Suns might have come out on top and defeated the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. But KD just did not have it against his former team. The two-time NBA Finals MVP shot a mere 7-of-22 from the field while scoring just 18 points.
If it weren’t for the performances of Jusuf Nurkic (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Josh Okogie (17 points, 7-of-9 shooting), most people would be talking about how Durant simply didn’t bring it on NBA Opening Night.
Winner: Nikola Jokic picks up where he left off
There was very little reason to believe that the Lakers could contain Jokic after his domination in the Western Conference Finals last season. Jokic averaged 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 11.8 assists in a record-breaking performance. Jokic was up to his old tricks at home to open the season Tuesday night.
Jokic’s ability to not only score, but also act as a distributor has been key to the Nuggets’ success during his time in Denver. He got others involved in this one, too, leading a team that posted 30 assists on 48 made field goals. This type of performance equates to a Nuggets squad that’s nearly unbeatable.
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Loser: Andrew Wiggins struggles in several ways for Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are expecting a lot from Wiggins as a 3-and-D wing this season after he missed a majority of last season due to both personal matters and injuries. After all, he was their second-best player during the team’s NBA championship run back in 2022.
While one game won’t define what Wiggins will accomplish with Golden State moving forward, he was a disaster class Tuesday night. The former No. 1 pick converted on just 4-of-12 from the field and scored 10 points. He added one rebound and zero assists while the Dubs finished minus-22 with the forward on the court. Ouch!
Winner: Chris Paul shines in Golden State Warriors debut
A lot was made of Paul’s fit in Golden State after a blockbuster trade this past summer. Would he take a role off the bench? How would the future Hall of Famer fit in with Stephen Curry? Well, the first game between this pair suggests it isn’t going to be an issue.
Sure, Paul struggled from the field (4-of-15 shooting). But he played a large role in Golden State turning the ball over just 11 times. His ability to slow things down and avoid the giveaway (1 turnovers on Tuesday) is going to be huge moving forward. Paul also added 14 points, six rebounds, nine assists and two steals while finishing plus-six in 34 minutes. Not too bad for the veteran.
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Loser: Gabe Vincent struggles in Los Angeles Lakers debut
A key player in the Miami Heat’s surprise run to the NBA Finals last season, Vincent signed a three-year, $33 million contract with Los Angeles during the summer. The idea was for this former undrafted free agent out of UC Santa Barbara to become a top bench option.
At least initially, it was a major struggle for the 27-year-old Vincent in his debut with Los Angeles. The guard finished just 3-of-8 shooting for six points while the Lakers were minus-19 in his 22 minutes of action. That’s just not going to cut it.
Winner: Devin Booker is a man possessed
With Bradley Beal absent from what would’ve been his debut with the Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant struggling, Booker knew he had to step up big time. That included scoring 21 points in the first half as the Suns took a 15-point lead into halftime.
With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Booker also assisted on the Suns’ final three field goals. That included two dagger threes. Phoenix did not have a traditional point guard on the court at that time. Instead, it relied on Booker to do his thing. The end result was the star guard shooting 13-of-21 from the field with 32 points, six rebounds and eight assists. What a great outing from Book.
Loser: Anthony Davis comes up small for Los Angeles Lakers
In his first game since signing a three-year, $177.1 million contract extension this past summer, Davis came out strong Tuesday night. The big man scored 17 points in the first half as the Lakers attempted to keep it close.
But much like we’ve seen recently, Davis disappeared completely in the second half. Going up against reigning NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic, he scored zero second half points with two turnovers. His defense on Jokic was not great, either.
Davis finished the games with those 17 points on a mere 6-of-17 shooting, including 1-of-2 from three-point range. That latter stat is not going to please head coach Darvin Ham. Meanwhile, the Lakers were minus-17 in his 34 minutes of action on NBA Opening Night.