Sports
NBA opening night: the Knicks raise a title banner as LeBron James and Jaylen Brown debut for the Sixers
The season tips off Tuesday with Celtics at Pistons, the new-look Sixers at the champion Knicks and a Western Conference finals rematch of Thunder at Spurs.
The NBA season starts Tuesday with three games in one day and a banner ceremony 53 years in the making.
All three games air on NBC and stream on Peacock. It is the first time a network has broadcast three games on the league's opening day.
Celtics at Pistons, 2 p.m. Central
The day starts in Detroit, where Cade Cunningham and the Pistons host Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics at Little Caesars Arena. The teams were the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference last season.
Boston looks very different. The Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia and added Paul George and Mitchell Robinson. Detroit kept All-NBA center Jalen Duren on a five-year deal worth $200 million.
Sixers at Knicks, 6 p.m. Central
The main event is at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks will raise their first championship banner since 1973 before they open their title defense. Pregame coverage and the ceremony begin at 5:30 p.m. Central.
Jalen Brunson returns as the reigning Finals MVP.
The visitors bring the biggest offseason story in the league. LeBron James signed a two-year deal worth $8 million with Philadelphia in July. The Sixers also traded for Brown, who averaged 29 points a game for Boston last season. They join Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
James said his decision came down to five teams. The Knicks were 5.5-point favorites for the opener entering the week.
Thunder at Spurs, 8:30 p.m. Central
The night ends in San Antonio with a rematch of last season's seven-game Western Conference finals. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs host Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
San Antonio went on to reach the Finals. Gilgeous-Alexander is chasing a third straight MVP award.
The Spurs and Thunder enter the season as co-favorites to win the title in betting markets. In one panel of 15 national NBA analysts, 10 picked Oklahoma City to win the championship and five picked San Antonio. Nine of the 15 picked Wembanyama for MVP.
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