The first League Pass Night of the 2026-27 season put 22 of the NBA’s 30 teams on the floor, and the opening 11-game Wednesday slate left a useful early notebook: Luka Dončić was manufacturing rim looks for a new Lakers big, Minnesota won the possession battle in Miami, Toronto ran Chicago into the ground, and Ty Jerome delivered the night’s loudest individual line.
The schedule also carried the league debuts of Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson, while Trae Young and Anthony Davis shared the floor in Washington. Kawhi Leonard returned to Toronto, and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Heat welcomed LaMelo Ball and Minnesota.
From the locker room
Dončić’s first Lakers outing showed why teammates are willing to sprint into open space when he has the ball. Los Angeles produced an expected effective field-goal percentage of 78.1% on shots created by his passes, the best mark among the 88 players who set up at least 10 attempts over the season’s first two days.
Walker Kessler finished his Lakers debut 12-for-12, with 10 dunks. That dunk total matched the most by any player in a game since Shaquille O’Neal threw down 11 on March 21, 2003. Dončić assisted five of Kessler’s field goals, tied for the highest one-to-one assist connection through the first two nights, and had seven assists overall despite the Lakers taking only 10 shots after his passes.
The larger tracking sample puts Dončić in rare company. Among players who have been the final passer on at least 500 attempts since 2013-14, only Young has produced a higher expected eFG%.
| Passer | Shots created | Expected eFG% |
|---|---|---|
| Trae Young | 10,939 | 59.8% |
| Luka Dončić | 9,810 | 59.2% |
| Darius Garland | 6,852 | 58.3% |
| Cade Cunningham | 5,118 | 58.2% |
| Victor Wembanyama | 1,689 | 57.9% |
Garland posted the second-best expected eFG% among Wednesday passers who created at least 10 shots.
Minnesota’s 25-point win over Miami was less about a hot shooting night than the extra work it created. The Timberwolves held an 18-shot-opportunity edge, fueled by a 17-4 advantage on the offensive glass and a 16-19 turnover margin. Minnesota’s true shooting percentage was 59.1%, compared with Miami’s 57.3%, a gap too modest to explain the final margin on its own.
The Heat went 8-for-33 from deep and lost the 3-point scoring by 39 points, but the rebounding and turnover ledger did the heavier damage. An 18-possession opportunity advantage would have been Minnesota’s best mark of last season and Miami’s worst. The Wolves, below league average in defensive rebounding rate a year ago, will have a different ceiling if Wednesday’s work on the glass travels.
Other early possession-game winners included Memphis, which created 16 more shooting opportunities than Utah; Toronto, up 13 on Chicago; and Golden State, up 11 on the Lakers.
Toronto’s win over the Bulls was built at a familiar Raptors pace. The club has finished first or second in fast-break scoring share in each of the past six seasons, and Leonard’s return did not slow the running game. The Raptors scored 43 transition points, a total that would have tied their third-highest output from last season.
Chicago helped open the floor with 15 live-ball turnovers. Leonard recorded four steals and held Bulls shooters to 4-for-11 when he was the nearest defender. Chicago shot 32% overall and an alarming 4-for-36 from 3-point range.
Jerome supplied the individual eruption in Memphis’ win over Utah. The eighth-year guard set a career high with 45 points, going 17-for-25 from the field and 5-for-10 beyond the arc while adding seven rebounds and six assists. His previous career best was 33 points, but Memphis had already seen a version of this production in a smaller role last season. Following a calf-strain absence, Jerome averaged 31.4 points and 9.0 assists per 36 minutes across 15 games from late January through late March. Through 16 career games as a Grizzly, he is at 33.0 points per 36 minutes.
Portland’s first five minutes against Phoenix made league history. The Blazers led 21-0 before the Suns scored, the sixth occurrence in 31 seasons of play-by-play records in which a team reached a 20-point lead before allowing a point. Portland is the only franchise to do it twice, having opened 22-0 against Boston on Feb. 21, 2004.
| Date | Opening burst |
|---|---|
| Feb. 21, 2004 | Blazers 22, Celtics 0 |
| Dec. 15, 2014 | Cavaliers 21, Hornets 0 |
| Apr. 11, 2016 | Wizards 20, Nets 0 |
| Mar. 7, 2020 | Hornets 20, Rockets 0 |
| Dec. 5, 2025 | Knicks 23, Jazz 0 |
| Oct. 21, 2026 | Blazers 21, Suns 0 |
Each of those six teams won. Only the 2016 Wizards surrendered the lead at any point. Portland’s new starting backcourt of Ja Morant and Damian Lillard scored 35 points in 23 offensive possessions together against Phoenix, an output of 152 points per 100 possessions. That is an especially welcome opening note for a team whose first quarters were its worst segment last season, at minus-4.0 points per 100 possessions, under new coach Micah Nori.
Next tip
- Friday, 7 ET: Raptors at Wizards; Timberwolves at Magic, both on League Pass.
- Friday, 8 ET: Pistons at Heat, League Pass.
- Friday, 9:30 ET: Pelicans at Jazz, League Pass. Utah also hosts the Lakers over the weekend.
- Friday, 10 ET: Clippers at Lakers; Grizzlies at Warriors; Blazers at Kings, all on League Pass.
- Friday, 4 ET: Bulls at Bucks, League Pass.
- Saturday, 10 ET: Warriors at Suns, NBA TV.
- Sunday, 7 ET: Raptors at Timberwolves, NBA TV.
Memphis begins a four-game western trip Friday at Golden State, followed by stops in Sacramento, Utah and Portland. The Grizzlies will see the Jazz again during that swing.
