The ratings for the NBA season opener must have left Adam Silver grinning from ear to ear.
The Los Angeles derby between the Lakers and Clippers was a fiercely contested battle. Though Paul George was sidelined with an injury, the Lakers were also without Kuzma, Rondo, and several others.
Even so, both teams put on a spectacular show.
In the end, the Lakers lost by a full 10 points, but most of that gap had only been created in the closing moments.
In truth, the game itself was even more intense than the score suggested.
Yet the Lakers-Clippers game could only be considered an appetizer.
The season opener between the Grizzlies and Nets was the one that truly deserved the title of marquee matchup.
Over the course of the game, it was not just the three stars—Irvng, Link, and Durant—who delivered outstanding performances.
The other players on both teams also played with tremendous effort.
Dillon Brooks scored 21 points, Dinwiddie dominated the second-unit minutes, Howard threw himself out of bounds to save the ball...
Even without those three superstars, it would still have been an impressive game.
And Link's impossible fadeaway three-pointer in the final five seconds to win it elevated the entire contest to another level.
Physicality, stars, a tense game, and a buzzer-beater—nothing could be more exciting than that.
After the game, the voices questioning the Grizzlies instantly quieted down considerably.
The facts proved that the rebuilt Memphis Grizzlies still had the ability to go toe-to-toe with the league's elite.
Of course, no one could be sure whether this season's Nets would truly become one of the league's top teams.
But a team with Durant and Irving certainly would not be bad.
The Grizzlies' ability to hang on until the end in a game like this at least