LeBron James had 11 points and 12 assists in the first game of his unprecedented 23rd NBA season, and Luka Doncic had 37 points and 10 assists in the Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Lakers (9-4) and Milwaukee Bucks (8-5) come off Friday night's NBA Cup group play wins as they square off in Milwaukee on the back end of back-to-backs.

The NBA is thriving, even with Lakers star LeBron James -- the face of the league for nearly two decades -- sidelined with injury.

The Warriors won each of the first two rounds of the playoffs in five games, then came back from 3-1 down against the Thunder to win the Western Conference finals, setting up a rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Golden State jumped out to a 3-1 lead in that series. However, Cleveland stormed back to win its first NBA championship.

And while LeBron doesn't make our roster, the Lakers are well represented. Let's start there, as one player is making waves as a second option in James' absence and setting himself up for a major payday in 2026 free agency.

NBA fans couldn't have asked for much more than what the 2025-26 season opener provided. As we tip off the NBA's 80th season, here are the top highlights from the opening night games as well as postgame takeaways from our ESPN insiders. Jimmy Butler rolled ...

Wednesday night after slaying the Lakers, All-NBA wing Jalen Williams poked his head into ESPN's Malika Andrews' walk-off interview with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and jokingly reminded everyone that he was still in the NBA since he hasn't yet been on the court this season.

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers woreKobe Bryant-themed socks in Sunday's shocking 112-95 win over the Golden State Warriors, marking the first time that an NBA team has ever worn a piece of equipment to honor a current player. "How about that?

The Los Angeles Lakers (8-4) travel to Smoothie King Center to face the New Orleans Pelicans (2-9) in this Friday night NBA matchup.

Noticing some postgame confusion at center court, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo intervened by securing the game ball and handing it to the Lakers to present to rookie teammate Adou Thiero.