Notable debuts in NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Walker Kessler impress with new teams

The league looks a bit different in 2026-27.

LeBron James is wearing Sixers red, white, and blue, Giannis Antetokounmpo has taken his talents to South Beach, and Walker Kessler came in a big trade to be the missing piece for the Lakers. 

How did those players, other stars, and a much-heralded rookie class perform in their debuts?

Here are the most notable new performances from opening night across the league. 

MORE: NBA opening day winners and losers

Notable NBA debuts from opening night

Brad Penner/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect

LeBron James solid but unspectacular in Sixers win

Stats: 14 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists

LeBron was still a top 25 player in the league and the best player for the Lakers in the playoffs last season. He's going to have a very different job on the Sixers, as he showed in his first game for the team on Tuesday. 

LeBron's job will be to connect all of the talented offensive pieces for Philadelphia, and he was excellent in that role. He got Jaylen Brown some easy looks, including a terrific post entry pass and a nifty bounce pass for an uncontested dunk, leading to Brown's own successful debut. 

LeBron looked for his offense a bit more as he found a rhythm later in the game. He's still a terrific transition player and downhill driver, and it looks like he'll get more of his points off those unscripted plays this season. He filled in all of the gaps that the Sixers needed in order to pull off a 106-100 win against the defending champion Knicks. 

MORE: What we learned about LeBron James, new-look 76ers in win over Knicks

Giannis Antetokounmpo dominant for Heat but needs more help

Stats: 35 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist

Giannis should be in the MVP conversation this season, if the Heat can win enough games to be near the top of the East. That's looking like a dicey proposition after the opener. 

Giannis was wildly efficient, needing just 19 shots to get to his 35 points. He was taking it straight to Rudy Gobert and others on his powerful drives, bulldozing his way to layups. But the Heat's depth was a worrying issue in the offseason, and that looked to be the case in their 131-106 loss to the Wolves. 

Klay Thompson, who had a noteworthy debut in the wrong direction, was a large part of Miami's defensive struggles. While he was a good defender earlier in his career, he can only really guard bigger and slower player these days. The Wolves were targeting and attacking him, causing a lot of breakdowns for the Heat. Thompson did chip in 10 points including 3-of-6 from 3, but he must defend better to stay in the starting lineup. 

Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

LaMelo Ball jump-started the Wolves offense

Stats: 21 points, 6 assists, 2 steals

Ball and Anthony Edwards were among the league leaders in 3-point attempts per game last season. They are going to get a lot of them up, and they combined for 14-of-30 from deep in the Wolves' 131-point explosion. Ball was hitting his one-legged 3's, pulling up from the logo, and had a questionable 3 that was the talk of the night. 

"That's a travel." How many steps from LaMelo? 😭 https://t.co/pmuhYg1zQb

Ball also helped Edwards explode for 45 points, taking over some of the ball-handling duties and helping to set Ant up for much easier looks than he's used to. Ball looks like he could take the Wolves into top-five offense territory this year.

MORE NBA: SN expert predictions | Power Rankings

The Walker Kessler trade is paying immediate dividends

Stats: 26 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks

The Lakers paid a high price (too high, by many accounts) to acquire Kessler in the offseason. He might be worth it. 

Kessler looked like the perfect partner for Luka Doncic, going a perfect 12-of-12 from the field in his Lakers debut. His shot diet consisted of 10 monster dunks and two layup. He's going to be getting the easiest buckets of his life as a big body that feasts off the attention that Doncic and Austin Reaves receive. 

WALKER KESSLER WENT 12-12 IN HIS LAKERS DEBUT 🤯 He had 10 DUNKS... the most by a Laker since Shaq in 2003! https://t.co/i7KWBrC9f6

Kessler also helped anchor what looks like a much-improved Lakers defense that suffocated the Warriors en-route to a 127-105 win.

Kessler's debut was so impressive that Shaquille O'Neal called him "the best big man in the NBA" on Inside the NBA's postgame show. I wouldn't go that far, but there is plenty of reason for Lakers fans to be excited.

MORE: Most important stat from Walker Kessler's Lakers debut has nothing to do with Shaq or Wilt Chamberlain

Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Paul George is a natural fit for the Celtics

Stats: 38 points, 3 assists, 5 steals

George had the best debut of anyone, setting a franchise record for most points in a player's first game as a Celtic. He was draining heat-check 3's, finishing his night shooting 7-of-12 from deep. 

Celtics bench is loving the Paul George takeover https://t.co/0snhfcEQEx

It's clear that George is going to have the perfect role in Boston's 3-point-heavy attack. He also fits their switch-heavy defensive scheme, and he should add some more disruption to a defense that was ranked No. 4 last year but didn't force a ton of turnovers. 

George was also amazing in the playoffs against Boston, looking fresh after sitting 25 games due to a suspension late in the regular season. When he's rested and at full strength, he's still an All-NBA talent. 

NBA'S TOP 100 DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: 1-10 | 11-100

A quiet night for the rookies

This was supposed to be a generational rookie class. Most of them had poor debuts. AJ Dybantsa sat due to an ankle injury, Darryn Peterson looked like the game was moving too fast for him in a Jazz blowout loss, Cameron Boozer had one cool power dunk but shot 2-of-15 otherwise, Darius Acuff shot a miserable 5-of-24 as the Kings lost by 25, and Caleb Wilson was a stunning -45 in a 43-point loss to the Raptors. 

The rookie scoreboard isn't looking too good after Game 1. Last year's was far better after Game 1. But note who was worst then and that he got much better. https://t.co/cTAj4wHVck

The one bright spot was Keaton Wagler, who came off the bench for 15 points, five assists, five rebounds, and two steals in a Clippers win. Wagler was making the simple passes, draining 3's, and holding up well defensively. Los Angeles has a lot working against them after the Kawhi Leonard tampering penalties, but Wagler is going to be a nice piece to build around.