Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic Electrify Fans on NBA’s Opening Night

Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry, and Luka Doncic highlighted NBA's 2025-26 season-opener.

Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic Electrify Fans on NBA’s Opening Night

Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Luka Doncic (Image via FirstSportz)

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NBC returned to be the NBA’s leading media rights partner and, in doing so, secured the opening night festivities of the 2025-26 season, where Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry, and Luka Doncic will battle against each other.

The first game saw the Houston Rockets travel to play the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a bittersweet experience for the Slim Reaper, who was in the building where he started his career.

Moreover, they were unveiling their first-ever championship banner and also handed out rings to all players. Durant did not watch the ceremony, rather was focused on the game.

As he was introduced to his former fans, they elected to boo him. He reciprocated their feelings with boos from his side. The two-time league champion then, along with his teammates, battled his former team every bit of the way.

They seemed to have the upper hand with 10 seconds to go, but Gilgeous-Alexander rose to tie the game. In overtime, they again battled hard, with Alperen Sengun tying it after missing his initial shot.

There was some confusion after it seemed that Kevin Durant had signaled a timeout. Thunder players called for a technical foul as the 15-time All-Star called for a timeout that did not exist.

Instead, officials clarified that they did not see the Paris Olympics gold medalist call the timeout, and allowed both teams to head to second overtime. In that sequence, again, both teams matched each other.

Then, with 11 seconds to go and with the Rockets in the lead, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander baited Kevin Durant into a foul and shot the game-winning free throws.

Stephen Curry’s late dagger spoils Luka Doncic’s career-best opening night performance

The second game of the night was supposed to be another classic. Fans initially were hyped to know that LeBron James would renew his rivalry with longtime compatriot Stephen Curry.

That did not happen as the King was ruled out due to injury, ending his 23-year run of making it to opening night games. In his place, it was Luka Doncic’s turn to shine.

The Slovenian promptly took over, dominating the scoring charts in every quarter. However, in doing so, his teammates did not get to see much of the ball.

Curry’s Warriors took advantage of it in the third quarter, pulling away into a double-digit lead that stayed until for much of the fourth quarter. A Lakers rally saw that lead come down to just 6 points.

Even when the Warriors looked to try to pull away, the men in purple and gold were right behind them. But with just 1 minute left in the game, the away team ran a scheme to get their most prolific scorer open.

Even though he had Gabe Vincent in front of him, the all-time leading 3-point shooter calmly let one fly from the logo. When it swished in, his teammates signaled his famous ‘night-night’ celebration.

That shot put an end to the Lakers’ attempts at stealing the game. Doncic finished the night with a stellar 43-point, 12-rebound, and 9-assist game, his best opening-night game of his career.

Kevin Durant believes OKC fans have love for him despite boos

When this second game was in session, Kevin Durant made his way to the Oklahoma City Thunder media room, where reporter Michael Shapiro asked him about the boos prior to their game.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander guarding Kevin Durant
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander guarding Kevin Durant (Image via Draftkings/X)

It’s part of the brand of OKC to boo me when my name gets introduced, but I think it’s all love after that.

Kevin Durant replied

The DC native added that whenever he is in town, he has always had people go up to him and tell him how much they appreciate his time there. This means those boos were just their way of trolling their former superstar.

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