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The Best Opening Day Moments In Recent Memory

Plus, the Warriors give two extensions, and who will be Minnesota's unsung hero?

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Starting With A Bang: Reliving the best moments from the opening days of seasons past.Warriors Empty The Bag: Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole both get $100 million-plus extensions.

PrizePicks

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Signing On

Folks, NBA basketball will be played in just over 24 hours. And it will count. Are you giddy? If not, get a pulse check. 

The air is thick with hope, NBA arenas are prepping for the avalanche of fans to come roaring in, and one poor franchise will undoubtedly tweet out something like “We told you this year would be DIFFERENT” after they start 2-0, only to finish 22-60 and be ratio’d for years to come. We hope it’s not your team. Let’s do this.

Opening Day Memorable Moments

If there’s one thing about NBA fans, it’s that they will react extremely rationally and level-headedly (is that a word?) to their team’s first game of the season. They will not claim that a Finals victory is guaranteed if their team wins on opening night, or clamor for their team to trade the entire roster and tank for a good draft pick after a loss … hm? Oh wait, apparently, they do, in fact, do those things. 

Let’s take a trip down memory lane.

2011: A Christmas Miracle

Every NBA fanatic got the same incredible gift in 2011: the NBA lockout ended, and we got to enjoy basketball on Christmas Day. Starting with this intro, which is still one of the coolest things ever, fans were treated to a couple of great games in the first NBA action in over six months. To start the day, Carmelo Anthony (37 points, 8 rebounds) dueled Rajon Rondo (31 points, 13 assists, 5 steals). The Mavericks finally got their championship rings, but the Heat won in a Finals rematch, and reigning MVP Derrick Rose hit a game-winner with 4.8 seconds left to sink the Lakers. 

2015: Pau Gasol Blocks LeBron In The Clutch

Pau Gasol's tenure on the Bulls feels like a fever dream in retrospect. He was actually really good there and made the All-Star Game in both of his seasons in the Windy City, but it's still jarring to see him in that jersey. Nevertheless, to kick off the 2015-16 season, he stifled LeBron's potential game-tying layup attempt in the waning seconds, securing the victory for Chicago. The Cavs are probably okay with it though, considering how their season ended...

2016: Spurs Spoil Durant’s Warriors Debut

The Kevin Durant era in Golden State got off to a rocky start and eventually came to a strange, tension-filled conclusion. Everything in between was great, but that's not what we're here to talk about! The Spurs put a clinic on the Dubs to start the 2016 season, proving they weren't going to roll over, even with Golden State recently becoming Voltron. Kawhi Leonard scored 35, and Jonathon Simmons (remember him?) pitched in 20 off the bench in the blowout.

2017: Rockets Rally To Beat Warriors In Thriller

Remember when every Warriors and Rockets game felt important? That was a lifetime ago at this point, but those days were a blast. These two teams have many, many memorable moments from the 2010s, and opening night in 2017 is certainly one of them. Getting a back-and-forth, nail-biting game to start the season is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Basketball is simply the best.

Unsung Heroes

Welcome to Unsung Heroes! At Enjoy Basketball, we have an affinity for the NBA players who do their work in the margins. So we have decided to dedicate a segment to the underappreciated and the underrated to show that they’re not so unloved. On the first and third Monday of each month, we’ll be spotlighting a player playing a key role on their team but not getting the proper attention from the basketball world at large.

The first unsung hero is a player who had a couple of monster games in the preseason and should play an important role off the bench for a team with their highest expectations in years: it’s Naz Reid!

Reid will bring some physicality and shooting off the T’Wolves bench this year, and while all the attention this offseason has understandably gone to the Wolves' other two big men, having real center depth is a pretty big plus in the NBA. Dealing with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, only to then be presented with the surprisingly agile Reid, will not be an enjoyable experience for fellow big men around the association.

Warriors Break The Bank For Poole, Wiggins

The Golden State Warriors spent more money on Saturday than most of us will spend in our entire lifetimes, giving a 4-year, $140 million contract extension to Jordan Poole and a 4-year, $109 million contract extension to Andrew Wiggins. These deals put Golden State $170.2 million over the luxury tax, essentially the same number they sat at in 21-22. Huh; the front office of a team investing time, money, and resources into their franchise ... works? Who would have thought?

Regardless of how these contracts age, the Warriors locked up two players who had major duties on a championship team. And not a one-and-done championship team either, but one that hopes to have a couple more runs in them. Making your players happy is sometimes as easy as giving them 100 million dollars. Well, that would make anyone happy, but ... you get the point. 

Good Reads

Young Core Rankings - Zach Kram & J. Kyle Mann (The Ringer)

2022-23 NBA Season Preview, Southeast Division - Nekias Duncan (Basketball News)

Feeling Minnesota? Wolves betting big on Rudy Gobert's defensive impact - Dan Devine (Yahoo Sports)

Signing Off

Rest up, friend. For tomorrow, we ride. As always, we truly appreciate your support. Remember ... 82 games is a lot. Take some deep breaths this week. Talk soon!

-Quinn Everts

Trivia Answer: The most points scored in a game by a rookie in the 21st century? 55 by Brandon Jennings on November 14, 2009!

Trivia Question: The Lakers will visit the Warriors on Tuesday night to tip off the season. The last time LA played their first road game of the season in Golden State was 2013-14. Who was the Lakers' leading scorer in that game? (Hint: he played college ball at Kansas...)