Stephen Curry scored 33 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 123-109 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Curry, an eight-time All-Star, was the leader of the Warriors' scoring.
In the past nine seasons, the Warriors have won five titles.
The Lakers star finished with 31 points, which is good for second place on the all-time points scoring list.
The Warriors had a tumultuous off-season with head coach Steve Kerr describing a recent clash between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole as the biggest crisis he has faced during almost a decade in charge.
Off-court issues did not affect the opening game of the season as they pulled away over the final three quarters to comfortably beat the Lakers.
The Warriors were held to 25 points in the first quarter but scored 34 and 32 in the final three periods as they defeated the Lakers.
Curry said that the ceremony was an amazing celebration to take time to reflect on what you accomplished.
It's difficult to turn the page and play a game of basketball, but we figured it out. We can now focus on the rest of the year.
Klay Thompson finished the game with 18 points for the champion, while Poole had 12 points and seven assists off the bench, and Curry had seven assists.
The Lakers failed to make the play-offs for the sixth year in a row despite James' 31 points.
Since 1984, Abdul-Jabbar's record has stood at 37,092 points.
During the ring ceremony, Curry made an emotional speech in support of the basketball player who was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court for drug charges.
Marijuana was found in her luggage when she was stopped at an airport near Moscow.
We want to shout out a member of the basketball community on our platform. "Brittney's birthday is today, she's 32 years old."
We want to keep her name out of the public eye. She was wrongly imprisoned in Russia for over two months.
Everyone is doing their part to get her home.
The Boston Celtics opened the season with a 126-118 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
James Harden led Philadelphia with 35 points, while last year's scoring title winner, Joel Embiid, finished with 26.
The Pacers are playing the Wizards.
The Pistons are playing the Magic.
The Miami Heat are playing the Chicago Bulls.
The Toronto Raptors are playing the Cleveland Cavs.
The New York Knicks are playing the Memphis Grizzles.
The Atlanta Hawks are playing the Houston Astros.
The Brooklyn Nets are playing the New Orleans Hornets.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are playing the Oklahoma CityThunder.
The San Antonio Spurs are playing the Charlotte Hornets.
The Jazz are playing the Nuggets.
The Dallas Mavericks are playing the Phoenix Suns.
The Kings are playing the Trail blazers.
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