LeBron spoiled the Knicks' championship night, Detroit came back from 22 down, and TFT took the court in Tuzla with six players

LeBron spoiled New York's championship night

Philadelphia beat New York 106-100 at Madison Square Garden, on the very night the Knicks celebrated their 2026 title. LeBron James, on his 76ers debut, had 14 points (5 of 13 shooting), 9 rebounds and 7 assists in 34 minutes. Not a poster stat line, but a career first: his debuts for Cleveland, Miami and the Lakers had always ended in defeat. The night was spiced up by an argument with a courtside fan, to whom LeBron shouted that he's not from the West Coast but from Ohio, with a few words not fit to print. Philadelphia's next opponent is none other than Cleveland, the club where it all began.

Detroit from 22 down to victory: a 23-0 run breaks Boston

Detroit beat Boston 121-113 after trailing 50-72 in the third quarter. The Pistons put together a 23-0 run in the final quarter, with Duncan Robinson scoring 15 of his 21 points in that stretch. It's the biggest comeback on an opening day since the NBA started logging every play (the 1997/98 season). Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren finished with 22 points each. For the Celtics, Paul George scored 38 on his debut, while Jayson Tatum managed just 13, shooting 6 of 23 and 0 of 7 from three. "It definitely wasn't one of my best nights, I have to play better," Tatum said, while coach Joe Mazzulla insists his star got the shots he wanted. If those were the shots he wanted, what do the unwanted ones look like?

The EuroLeague tells the NBA: its own league in Europe would be a disaster

EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno says openly that if the NBA enters Europe with its own competition, it will be "a disaster". The thirteen shareholder clubs rejected the NBA's first offer at a meeting by Lake Como on 6 October, but the door isn't closed - a counter-offer is expected in the coming weeks. Bueno also reminds the clubs of the price of leaving: contracts signed for 10 years, penalties, possible damages and more than 80 million euros in shares they would lose. NBA Europe is planned for 2027, and without a deal it could be pushed back to 2028. "If you're divided, you lose value, and a third party benefits," Bueno says. The question is who that third party is - the NBA, or the EuroLeague itself, which plans to grow to 24 clubs with eight more long-term licences?

TFT in Tuzla with six players and a 45-point defeat: Smilkovski wants an answer

TFT began their ABA League 2 season with a 61-106 defeat away to Sloboda in Tuzla, but the score is the least of the problems. The league's runners-up took the court with only six players, all local, because the commissioner had received a list without the Americans on it. The club says it registered them on time and received no notice that anyone was ineligible. "The club's instructions were not to go out on the court," says coach Boro Smilkovski, but the team played anyway - for the fans, for the hosts and for the foreign players themselves, who asked for the game to go ahead. Toma Stojanoski finished with 25 points and 7 rebounds. Smilkovski is announcing legal steps: "We travelled 700 kilometres and we feel insulted." If the registration was in order, who in the ABA League lost the document - and will anyone answer for it?

MZT still winless in the EuroCup: Würzburg, with Filipovski on the bench, the better side

MZT Skopje Aerodrom suffered their third defeat in the FIBA EuroCup, this time away to Germany's Würzburg. The first quarter ended 21-21, but then the hosts took control and led by as much as 75-58 in the final quarter. On Würzburg's bench sits Saša Filipovski, a Slovenian coach of Macedonian origin, so the Macedonian champions fell to "one of their own". Eddie Colbert had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Germans, while MZT's top scorer was Noah Farrakhan with 14 points. The Macedonian champions are still waiting for their first group win, and their chance comes on Tuesday, 27 October, when they host Cyprus's AEK Larnaca at "Jane Sandanski". If not at home against Larnaca, then where?