Giannis debuts for Miami: seven assists in 14 minutes

Giannis Antetokounmpo played his first game in a Miami Heat jersey without missing a single shot from the field. In a convincing 129:105 win over the Toronto Raptors in Quebec, the Greek played just 14 minutes and finished with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists, shooting 3 of 3 from the field and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line. Coach Erik Spoelstra immediately reached for the biggest comparison in the house: he compared him to Magic Johnson, the "big playmaker" who played for Pat Riley in the eighties. Bam Adebayo added 10 points and 6 rebounds, and the top scorer was Tim Hardaway Jr. with 14. Yes, this is a preseason game, and October wins don't bring rings. But when a two-time MVP starts with passes instead of points, it says how seriously Miami is taking the season. The next test is on 8 October against New Orleans.

Mike James goes down in Belgrade, and Zvezda's fans applaud him

The EuroLeague's all-time leading scorer, Mike James, injured his Achilles tendon as Anadolu Efes visited Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade. It happened 2:40 before the end of the third quarter, with Zvezda up 53:51: James was chasing the ball, made a short sprint and went down without any contact. He was carried off on a stretcher, and the Belgrade crowd sent him off with loud applause. Efes eventually lost 72:77. The surgery was successful, but a 7 to 9 month layoff for a 36-year-old raises the question of whether he will ever return to this level. James was EuroLeague MVP in 2024, carried Monaco for five seasons and signed for Efes this summer. A rival arena rarely sends off an opposing player like that. Belgrade did.

Partizan go from -13 to a win in Munich

Partizan still haven't tasted defeat in the EuroLeague. The black-and-whites visited Bayern and were trailing by 13 points in the third quarter, but ended up celebrating 86:84 for a third straight win. The lead role went to Carlik Jones: 16 points, 12 of them in the final quarter, and 5 assists. The top scorer was Tonye Jekiri with 17 points, and Kevarrius Hayes made the key defensive stop at the end. "We could easily have given up, but we fought, we fought, we fought," Jones said after the game. After a very tough previous season, Partizan for now look like a team that has learned not to give up. How long will that last in a league where every week is a final?

Kožuf topple the runners-up in Skopje

The first round of the Superleague brought an upset at the Jane Sandanski hall: last season's runners-up, now playing as KK Skopje, lost to Kožuf 95:101. The Skopje side even led by 11 points in the second quarter and were up 45:40 at the break, but from 58:58 the Gevgelija team turned it around and went into the last quarter at 72:72. The difference-makers were Nikola Bojčev with 24 points and Armstrong with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while for the hosts Colin Parker and Cameron Jones scored 26 each. The sweetest detail is on the bench: Mišo Todorović, who coached the Skopje team last season, outsmarted former national team coach Marjan Ilievski from the Kožuf side. Todorović taught his old club a lesson in round one.

Efremovski with 29 points, Pelister the only home side to win

Rabotnički opened the season with an away win in Strumica, against the league returnees, 92:85. The City Park team led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter, then let the gap shrink to five - a detail that needs cleaning up before the tougher opponents arrive. National team player Viktor Efremovski scored 29 points, and Robert Rikić added a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds. In Bitola, Pelister beat TFT 78:70, after a nervy finish in which TFT answered with a quick five-point run. Cameron McDowell had 19 points and 7 rebounds, while Sekou Sylla scored 31 for the visitors. The Bitola team were the only home side to win in the round. Coincidence, or a sign that this season the Macedonian league will be won on the road?