1) February 5, 1999: Philadelphia 76ers 78, Charlotte Hornets 66 (messy start to a messy lockout-shortened season)

It was an appropriately awful start to what eventually became the ugliest post-merger NBA season. After a lengthy lockout was finally resolved, an abbreviated schedule was cobbled together for ’98-’99 that included 24 teams playing on opening night. The evening included portentous results in a win for the impending champion Spurs and a loss for the decimated roster of the defending champion Bulls. But the clearest omen of the upcoming season happened in Charlotte, where the Hornets and Sixers shot a combined 36% from the field, Allen Iverson was the leading scorer with 15 points on 4-of-17 shooting, and the final score was 78-66. This was no battle of cellar dwellers either, as each team finished above .500 for the season, and Philadelphia eventually reached the second round of the playoffs. Most of the entries on this list will portend the near future for individual teams, but this was one time when one game foreshadowed a rough year for the entire league.

2) October 12, 1979: Los Angeles Lakers 103, San Diego Clippers 102 (Magic dazzles)
3) October 12, 1979: Boston Celtics 114, Houston Rockets 106 (Larry’s legend begins)

The calendar read 1979 but the golden age of the NBA ’80s began this night, with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird making their debuts. Johnson’s was especially eventful, a surprisingly tight win over the lowly Clippers. Johnson combined with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for 55 points, dispelling concerns for the moment over their ability to gel. Abdul-Jabbar clinched the game with a sky hook at the buzzer, for the first of 60 Lakers wins that season. While the notoriously dour veteran center barely celebrated his game winning shot, the exuberant Johnson acted as if the Lakers had just won the title then and there. Meanwhile, a rival dynasty was getting started on the opposite coast in Boston. Bird finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a Celtics win over the Rockets. It was the first of 61 wins for the Celtics in ’79-’80, after finishing the prior season 29-52. Bird went on to earn Rookie of the Year honors but Johnson was ultimately Finals MVP after leading the Lakers to his first of five titles.

4) October 21, 1976: Boston Celtics 129, Indiana Pacers 122 (don’t sleep on the merged ABA teams)

Though the Indiana Pacers were arguably the most successful franchise of the ABA, they came out of the merger with tempered NBA expectations. The Spurs had George Gervin and the Nuggets David Thompson, but the Pacers roster was mostly comprised of role players and journeymen by NBA standards. In an opening night game against the defending champion Celtics, the Pacers proved themselves to be no pushover, leading by as much as 18 points before succumbing to a 129-122 loss. Billy Knight led Indiana with 29 points and would go on to make the All-Star team in his first NBA season. The Pacers didn’t appear in the NBA playoffs until 1981, but they were competitive throughout ’76-’77 while fellow former ABA team the Nuggets won 50 games and reached the Conference Semifinals. Meanwhile, this was the beginning of a tough year for the aging Celtics, who went into rebuilding mode in the subsequent offseason.

5) November 2, 1999: Los Angeles Lakers 91, Utah Jazz 84 (changing of the West guard)

With Shaquille O’Neal fully healthy and Phil Jackson taking over as coach, a changing of the guard in favor of the Lakers seemed pre-ordained in ’99-’00. An opening night matchup against the Jazz was perfect symmetry. Led by Karl Malone (now 36 years old), John Stockton (37), Jeff Hornacek (36 and had already announced his impending retirement), Utah was aiming for one last deep playoff run after a successful but title-less ’90s. Even with Kobe Bryant sidelined by a broken hand, the Lakers made a statement in this one. O’Neal finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds while new acquisition Glen Rice led the team with 28 points. The veteran Jazz were hardly phased, blowing out the Rockets two nights later en route to 55 wins. They finished the season as the #2 seed behind the Lakers but were upset in the Conference Semifinals by the Trail Blazers and haven’t finished that high in the standings since. The Lakers finished ’99-’00 with 67 wins and their first of three consecutive titles.

6) October 31, 2006: Chicago Bulls 108, Miami Heat 66 (about that Heat title defense…)

Halloween night in Miami was the scene of a massacre for the Heat, one that was broadcast nationally on TNT. It was only the beginning of one of the league’s best examples of an extended NBA title hangover. A young, up-and-coming Bulls team used a 16-5 run early in the second quarter to blow the game open, and never looked back. Shaquille O’Neal looked hobbled and ancient, finishing with only seven points and five rebounds. Aging veterans Antoine Walker and Gary Payton, whose turn-back-the-clock performances were crucial to Miami’s 2006 title, both looked washed up and overwhelmed, combining for 16 points on 4-of-14 shooting. This result turned out to be a direct harbinger for that following spring, when Chicago absolutely dominated the Heat in a first round series sweep. This sparked a Heat rebuild, with O’Neal, Walker and Payton leaving the team over the next 12 months.

7) November 3, 1989: Chicago Bulls 124, Cleveland Cavaliers 119 (Jordan owns Cleveland)

It didn’t matter that their young core of Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, and Ron Harper were coming together perfectly. It didn’t matter that the legendary Lenny Wilkens was their coach. It didn’t matter that they swept the Bulls in the ’88-’89 regular season. When it came down to winner-take-all, the Cavaliers could not overcome Michael Jordan and the Bulls. A first round series loss to Chicago in 1988 was disappointing but understandable, and the future still looked bright. Losing to the Bulls in 1989 again despite home court advantage, thanks to Jordan hitting “The Shot”? That was a much harder pill to swallow. The 1989 postseason had ended in heartbreak for the Bulls as well, losing a close Conference Finals to the Pistons, and this was their first game under new head coach Phil Jackson. Despite Price and Daugherty missing the game with injuries (talk about an omen), Cleveland led almost the entire way until Jordan took over late, finishing with 54 points in another Bulls win.

8) November 5, 1993: Houston Rockets 110, New Jersey Nets 88 (a new alpha dog makes his opening statement)

Bird and Magic were retired, Jordan was playing baseball, the “Bad Boys” were no more, and the NBA was up for grabs. Not since the late ’70s had an NBA season opened in such uncharted territory. The Rockets were part of a mass of potential contenders, entering the season with 12:1 title odds. They made a statement on opening night, cruising past a decent Nets team behind 24 points, 19 rebounds, and six assists from Hakeem Olajuwon. Even better, the supposed Western Conference favorites Phoenix were upset on the same night by the Lakers. A win over New Jersey is always negligible, but the Rockets left no doubts over the next following weeks, winning their first 15 games to tie the NBA record and eventually running their record to 22-1. At season’s end, the Rockets had won their first ever championship while Olajuwon was named Finals MVP, league MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year.

9) October 26, 2010: Boston Celtics 88, Miami Heat 80 (the old Big Three teaches the new Big Three a lesson)

Veterans around the NBA were noticeably irked by the Heat’s 2010 event in which multiple championships were basically guaranteed by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. The original “Big Three” of the Celtics were basically the embodiment of that grievance. Boston had dominated the Eastern Conference over the last three seasons, winning two conference titles and falling short in 2009 mostly due to a Kevin Garnett injury. In an opening night home game against the Heat, the Celtics seized the opportunity to send a message. They held the high powered Heat offense to just nine points in the first quarter and led by 15 at halftime before cruising to the win. James came as advertised, finishing with 31 points, while Wade and Bosh struggled, shooting a combined 7-of-27 from the field. It was part of a tough start for this Heat team of self-assessed conquering heroes, opening with a 9-8 record. They eventually righted the ship, won 58 games, and eliminated the Celtics in the playoffs. But criticisms about their softness only increased when they were upset by the Mavericks in the NBA Finals.