Giannis in Miami, Ja in Portland, Kawhi back in Toronto: all 11 games tonight

Twenty-two teams play their first game tonight.

After this slate, only Cleveland and Denver are still waiting, and they open Thursday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo debuts for Miami, Ja Morant for Portland and LaMelo Ball for Minnesota. Kawhi Leonard plays his first game back in a Raptors uniform. Tyrese Haliburton plays his first game that counts since he tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals.

Atlanta went 4-0 against Orlando last season and won the four games by a combined 60 points. The Hawks finished 46-36 and the Magic 45-37. Orlando then blew a 3-1 first-round lead to Detroit, fired Jamahl Mosley and hired Sean Sweeney. It signed Nikola Vucevic and otherwise kept the roster together. Atlanta traded for Luguentz Dort and kept building around Jalen Johnson, an All-Star last season at 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists.

Orlando has not finished in the top half of the league in offensive efficiency since 2012. Paolo Banchero averaged 22.2 points but shot 30.5% from three on 3.8 attempts, and he turned the ball over 3.1 times a game. Desmond Bane shot 39.1% from three, Franz Wagner 34.5% and Wendell Carter Jr. 31.9%. Dyson Daniels averaged 2.0 steals, Nickeil Alexander-Walker won Most Improved Player at 20.8 points on 39.9% from three, and Dort is another chaser. ESPN has the Hawks third in both points off turnovers and fast-break points. Orlando's size is Wagner, Banchero, Carter and Vucevic. Atlanta's backup center, Jock Landale, has never averaged more than one block a game.

Anthony Black, who averaged 15.0 points and 1.4 steals, is out with a right ankle sprain. The rest of the 8:15 AM ET report is on the chips above.

Milwaukee plays its first game since trading Antetokounmpo to Miami. Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel'el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis came back in the deal, and Taylor Jenkins is the new coach. The Bucks waived Kevin Porter Jr. on Monday even though he led them in assists last season. Washington went 17-65 and was outscored by 12.0 points a game, the worst margin in the league. Since January it has added Trae Young, Anthony Davis, Deandre Ayton and the No. 1 pick, AJ Dybantsa. Young played five games for Washington after the January trade. Davis never played for the Wizards after the February trade.

The market has that 17-win team favored. Davis played 20 games for Dallas last season and averaged 20.4 points and 11.1 rebounds, and Alex Sarr blocked 2.0 shots a game, against a Bucks offense that scored 110.6 points a game, second-lowest in the league. Milwaukee now runs through Herro, who scored 20.5 a game in 33 games for Miami, and Ryan Rollins, who averaged 17.3 points and 5.6 assists and shot 40.6% from three. Myles Turner shot 38.3% from three on 5.4 attempts, which can pull Davis or Sarr away from the rim. ESPN reports Young's preseason usage rate was 21%, and he has never finished a season below 28%. Kyshawn George, at 14.8 points and 4.5 assists, and Tre Johnson, at 12.2 points, both need the ball too.

Dybantsa is out with a left ankle sprain. Coach Brian Keefe said Tuesday that he is day-to-day. The rest of the report is on the chips above.

Antetokounmpo debuts for Miami, and Ball and Anthony Edwards play their first game as a backcourt. Antetokounmpo averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists on 62.4% shooting last season, in 36 games and 28.9 minutes a night. Miami gave up Herro to get him and lost Norman Powell in free agency. It added Tim Hardaway Jr., who shot 40.7% from three, Bobby Portis, who shot 45.6%, and Klay Thompson. Minnesota went 49-33 and gave up Julius Randle and Naz Reid for Ball.

ESPN, citing GeniusIQ tracking, says the 2025-26 Heat set 20 picks per 100 possessions. The next-lowest team in the tracking era set 38. That offense now runs through a driver. If Minnesota sends help at Antetokounmpo, Andrew Wiggins, who shot 41.4% from three, and the new shooters get open looks. If it does not, Rudy Gobert, who averaged 11.5 rebounds, has to guard him one-on-one. Minnesota's frontcourt is thinner without Randle and Reid, and Jonathan Kuminga now starts at forward, per ESPN. Edwards averaged 28.8 points, third-most in the league per ESPN. Ball averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 3.8 made threes in 28.0 minutes for Charlotte, on 10.3 threes a game. Miami's answer is Davion Mitchell, Wiggins and Bam Adebayo, who averaged 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds.

Donte DiVincenzo is out after right Achilles tendon surgery. He played all 82 games last season and made 3.0 threes a game. The rest of the report is on the chips above.

Charlotte went 44-38, its best season in a decade according to ESPN, and outscored opponents by 4.8 points a game. It then traded Ball and Miles Bridges, and it opens without Kon Knueppel, Coby White and Grant Williams. Knueppel made 273 threes and became the first rookie to lead the league in made threes. White signed for three years and $74 million this summer. Brooklyn went 20-62 and scored 105.9 points a game, the fewest in the league.

Charlotte's offense runs through Brandon Miller. He signed a five-year, $209 million extension Monday after averaging 20.2 points and making 3.1 threes a game at 38.3%. Naz Reid, at 13.6 points and 6.2 rebounds for Minnesota, is in line to start full time for the first time, per ESPN. Dennis Schroder, who averaged 4.9 assists for Sacramento and Cleveland, is the other ballhandler. Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale came from Phoenix in the Bridges trade. Moussa Diabate pulled down 8.7 rebounds in 26.0 minutes, and ESPN credits Charlotte's defensive rebounding with starting its fast breaks. Brooklyn added Julius Randle, who averaged 21.1 points and 5.0 assists for Minnesota, next to Michael Porter Jr., who averaged 24.2 points on 9.3 three-point attempts a game. The young backcourt is the No. 5 pick, Mikel Brown Jr., and Egor Demin. Demin shot 38.5% from three, and ESPN says 72% of his shots were threes.

Knueppel, White and Williams are out. The team said Tuesday that the three of them have resumed individual on-court work. The rest of the report is on the chips above.

Leonard is back in Toronto seven years after the 2019 title. He averaged 27.9 points and 1.9 steals for the Clippers last season and shot 50.5% from the field, 38.7% from three and 89.2% from the line. ESPN, citing Cleaning the Glass, says the Clippers were 14.4 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor. Toronto went 46-36 with the No. 5 defense, allowing 113.0 points per 100 possessions per ESPN. Brandon Ingram is now a Clipper. Chicago went 31-51 and allowed 121.5 points a game, third-most in the league. It has a new coach in Tiago Splitter and the No. 4 pick, Caleb Wilson. The Raptors won all three meetings last season by an average of 18.3 points.

Toronto was 25th in made threes at 11.3 a game. Leonard is a pull-up shooter, which is what that offense lacked. Scottie Barnes averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists with 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocks, and Jakob Poeltl shot 70.0% from the field. Chicago wants to run. Josh Giddey averaged 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists, and Powell, an All-Star last season in Miami, scored 21.7 a game. ESPN lists isolation scoring as a Bulls weakness. With Nic Claxton out, Jalen Smith, who shot 37.3% from three, can pull Poeltl away from the rim.

Claxton is out with a left hamstring strain, and Zach Collins is probable. Leonard is not on the report. The rest of the 8:15 AM ET report is on the chips above.

Both teams missed the playoffs. Utah went 22-60 and Memphis 25-57. The Jazz traded for Jaren Jackson Jr. before the February deadline and drafted Darryn Peterson No. 2. Memphis moved on from Morant, Jackson and Bane and took Cameron Boozer No. 3. Jackson averaged 19.4 points and 1.4 blocks across both teams last season. These teams split four games, and two of them went over 250 combined points.

Utah allowed 126.0 points a game last season, the most in the league, and ESPN has the Jazz 29th, 29th and 30th in defense over the last three seasons. Walker Kessler left in a sign-and-trade and Jusuf Nurkic is out, which leaves Jaxson Hayes, Kyle Filipowski, Mo Bamba and Jackson in the center room. That is the opening for Zach Edey. He played 11 games last season before ankle surgery and averaged 13.6 points and 11.1 rebounds in 25.8 minutes. Memphis also has Ty Jerome, who scored 19.7 points in 22.6 minutes over 15 games. Lauri Markkanen averaged 26.7 points in 42 games. Keyonte George averaged 23.6 points and 6.1 assists and raised his field goal percentage from 39.1% to 45.6%, per ESPN.

Nurkic is out with a plantar plate tear in his right second toe. Isaiah Stewart is doubtful with a left ankle sprain. The rest of the report is on the chips above.

Haliburton plays tonight 487 days after his last game, per ESPN. That game was Game 7 of the 2025 Finals, when he tore his Achilles. Indiana went 19-63 without him. Ivica Zubac came from the Clippers, and Myles Turner is in Milwaukee. New Orleans went 26-56 and has a new coach in Jamahl Mosley, who coached Orlando last season.

The Pacers were 12th in assists last season at 27.7 a game, after ranking third and first in the two seasons before. Pascal Siakam scored 24.0 a game without Haliburton, and Andrew Nembhard averaged 16.9 points and 7.7 assists. Zubac averaged 14.1 points and 10.6 rebounds on 59.8% shooting, and the Haliburton-Zubac pick-and-roll is the action to watch. Zion Williamson played 62 games, his second-most ever, and averaged 21.0 points on 60.0% shooting. Trey Murphy III scored 21.5 and made 3.2 threes a game. ESPN, citing Cleaning the Glass, says Williamson and second-year center Derik Queen were outscored by 12.3 points per 100 possessions together. Bennedict Mathurin, added this offseason, and Dejounte Murray, who played 14 games last season, give New Orleans more ballhandling.

T.J. McConnell and Aaron Nesmith are out with hamstring strains. Haliburton is not on the report, and New Orleans has no one listed. The rest of the Indiana report is on the chips above.

Fred VanVleet is back. He missed all of last season with a torn ACL, and Houston still went 52-30, including 30-11 at home. Kevin Durant averaged 26.0 points on 52.0% shooting, 41.3% from three and 87.4% from the line. Dallas went 26-56 but has Cooper Flagg, who averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists as a teenager. Kyrie Irving, who did not play a game last season per ESPN's stats, starts next to him. Dusty May is the Mavericks' coach.

Houston wins the glass. ESPN, citing Cleaning the Glass, says the Rockets grabbed 37.4% of their own misses last season, and per Stathead that was the highest offensive rebounding rate for any team since 2003. Dallas is short on bigs. That leaves Daniel Gafford, Moussa Cisse and rookie Morez Johnson Jr. to keep Alperen Sengun, Steven Adams and Jabari Smith Jr. off the offensive glass. Sengun averaged 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists. ESPN has the Rockets near the bottom of the league at 15.4 turnovers a game, and Houston blew double-digit leads in 18 of its 32 losses. VanVleet is the fix for that. Amen Thompson averaged 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists but shot 21.6% from three.

Dereck Lively II is out after a second foot surgery and Santi Aldama is out after knee surgery. Adams and Julian Phillips are questionable. The rest of the report is on the chips above.

LeBron James is in Philadelphia, so the Lakers are Luka Doncic's team. Doncic led the league at 33.5 points a game, with 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists. Austin Reaves scored a career-best 23.3. The Lakers went 53-29 and added Walker Kessler, a 7-foot-2 center, in a sign-and-trade. Golden State went 37-45. The Lakers won the last two meetings by 28 and 16, and the season series was 2-2.

The Lakers were 10th in offensive rating last season and 20th in defensive rating, per ESPN. Kessler is there to change the defense. ESPN, citing GeniusIQ, says opponents have shot 54.6% in the restricted area with him as the closest defender over his career, third-best among players with at least 500 shots defended. Golden State opens without Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Kristaps Porzingis. That leaves Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Al Horford, De'Anthony Melton and the No. 11 pick, Yaxel Lendeborg. Curry averaged 26.6 points and 4.4 made threes in 43 games last season. A knee problem cost him 27 games, and ESPN reports the Warriors plan for somewhere around 28 to 32 minutes tonight.

Curry is probable with right ankle soreness. Butler, Moody and Podziemski are out, and Porzingis is not with the team. The rest of the report is on the chips above.

Portland opens with Morant and Damian Lillard, who missed last season with an Achilles injury. Deni Avdija averaged 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists, so the Blazers have three lead ballhandlers plus Jrue Holiday. Micah Nori is a first-time head coach. Phoenix went 45-37 in Jordan Ott's first season and traded Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale to Charlotte for Miles Bridges.

Portland's offense was 21st last season, per ESPN, because it was 28th in three-point percentage and last in turnovers. Lillard helps the shooting. Morant does not. He shot 23.5% from three in 20 games for Memphis and has averaged at least three turnovers in every one of his seven seasons, per ESPN. Shaedon Sharpe, who scored 20.8 a game, is out after meniscus surgery. Donovan Clingan averaged 11.6 rebounds in 27.2 minutes. ESPN calls center Phoenix's biggest weakness. Devin Booker averaged 26.1 points and 6.0 assists but shot 33.0% from three. ESPN lists last season's three-point percentages for the Suns' projected starters, and the best of them was Dillon Brooks at 34.4%. Brooks also scored 20.2 a game. Collin Gillespie made 40.1% of his 7.2 attempts a game. Jalen Green played only 32 games because of hamstring problems.

Mark Williams is out after left shoulder surgery, and Avdija is questionable with right ankle soreness. Lillard and Morant are not on the report. The rest of the report is on the chips above.

The Clippers went 42-40 and then traded Leonard. Owner Steve Ballmer is suspended for a year and the team is forfeiting five future first-round picks, per ESPN, after a league investigation into salary cap circumvention. They also start with Bradley Beal, Brandon Ingram and Max Strus out. Sacramento went 22-60, allowed 121.0 points a game and won seven road games all season. Rookie Darius Acuff Jr. starts at point guard, per ESPN. The Clippers won three of four meetings last season, including a 41-point win.

Darius Garland is the Clippers' offense now. He averaged 19.9 points and 6.4 assists in 19 games after arriving from Cleveland and shot 43.8% from three. Rui Hachimura, who shot 44.3% from three for the Lakers, Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr. and Brook Lopez fill in around him. ESPN says the Clippers were the league's oldest team last season, with an average age of 30.0. Sacramento's veterans all missed time. Domantas Sabonis played 19 games and averaged 11.4 rebounds, Keegan Murray played 23, and Zach LaVine scored 19.2 a game in 39 games with 39.0% shooting from three. ESPN reports the Kings have explored trades for LaVine, Sabonis and Malik Monk. Ben Simmons, signed to back up Acuff and play all five positions, tore his Achilles in practice Sunday. Maxime Raynaud, who averaged 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds as a rookie, and Dylan Cardwell, who averaged 7.5 rebounds, are out too. Sabonis and Precious Achiuwa are the healthy bigs.

Simmons is out with a ruptured right Achilles, and Monk is questionable with left ankle soreness. Beal, Ingram and Strus are out for the Clippers. The rest of the report is on the chips above.

Miami against Minnesota is whether the Heat's low-screen offense becomes a Giannis offense on day one.

Haliburton's first half in New Orleans is how much of Indiana's old offense comes back with him.

The Lakers with Kessler at center against a short-handed Golden State are the first look at Doncic's team without James.