35 Sickest Highlights from the NBA's Opening Day Games

The NBA players knew what happened during the extended lockout that took place in the 1998-99 season.

After months of having to wait out the season and not having it start until February, players came back extremely sluggish and unconditioned. Games were slow, point totals were low and it turned out to be ugly basketball for the first couple of weeks until the players finally got back into playing form.

That's not the case this time. The majority of the league not only showed up conditioned and ready to play, but they actually improved. They didn't take time to have extended vacations, but instead improved on all aspects of their game. While Kendrick Perkins and Zach Randolph shed weight, Chris Bosh and Kevin Durant improved their strength.

Judging by opening day, there are still teams that looked sluggish out the gate, but there are others who you could tell took complete advantage of the extended offseason.

Take a look at the Miami Heat, where we saw LeBron James' post game vastly improved.

With three days of basketball in the books, let's take a look at 35 of the best plays from the opening games of the 2011-12 season.

35. The NBA Forever Commercial

It's not a highlight, but this NBA commercial was easily one of the best we've seen this year.

It features current players playing with and against former players, as you see Paul Pierce defending Jerry West, LeBron James attempting to dunk on Julius Erving and Dirk Nowtitzki attempting to take on Larry Bird.

My personal favorites had to be Larry Bird kicking out a pass to Ray Allen on the perimeter, and Dwight Howard getting his shot rejected by Wilt Chamberlain, then having the two laugh it out.

It certainly beats out that annoying LMFAO ad spot.

34. Carlos Boozer Sends Back Josh McRoberts

Carlos Boozer hasn't always been known for his defensive prowess, but he proves his doubters wrong with a strong rejection on Josh McRoberts' reverse dunk attempt.

33. Metta World Peace Still Has It

Without Andrew Bynum, the man formerly known as Ron Artest has attempted to fill in for the lack of offense outside of Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant.

Metta World Peace decided to show that he still has the bunnies with a thunderous tomahawk against the Utah Jazz.

32. Udonis Haslem Ends the Fast Break with a Bang

Starting off with an amazing block on Brendan Haywood by Joel Anthony, Dwyane Wade proceeds to start a fast break.

Unlike most fast breaks, this one doesn't end up with a highlight by Wade. Instead, he misses and it turns out to be Udonis Haslem who picks up the pieces and slams it home off the tip.

31. Marcus Camby Sends DeMarcus Cousins' Shot off the Court

If you're even thinking about taking it to the hole against a 37-year-old, you better take it hard.

DeMarcus Cousins went the passive route and Marcus Camby responded by swatting it into the third row.

30. Kevin Durant Gets the and-One Against Orlando

Kevin Durant shows off why being lanky and skinny works in his favor on this particular play.

When Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson converge on him, Durant slips right through to lay it in with the foul.

29. Kemba Walker Actually Gets the Charlotte Crowd Excited

Recording 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists in a win in his debut with the Charlotte Bobcats, Kemba Walker gave the organization something to look forward to in terms of his production at all aspects of the game.

What they're mostly looking forward to is his offensive prowess. He only shot 3-of-10 from the field, but he managed to connect on all seven of his free-throw attempts while making it look easy at getting to the rim.

Perhaps it's because of the sick handles that he possesses, which unleashes on Larry Sanders on this particular play.

28. Derrick Favors Throws Down the Mean Slam over Pau Gasol

One of the league's most athletic players, Derrick Favors is looking to make his presence felt after being traded from New Jersey to Utah in the Deron Williams trade.

He's starting off the year in the right direction with a thunderous slam courtesy of a pass by fellow former Nets teammate Devin Harris.

27. Rajon Rondo and Brandon Bass Hook Up Under the Rim

With 21 points and 10 boards in his Boston Celtics debut, Brandon Bass immediately made his team forget about letting go of Glen Davis.

Bass was consistently hitting jumpers and truly making his presence felt on the inside, with this slam over the New York Knicks, courtesy of Rajon Rondo's passing expertise, being example number one of why the Celtics made the right move.

26. Kobe Bryant Climbs the Ladder for the Alley-Oop

The first two games of the season have been disappointing for the Los Angeles Lakers, to say the least.

But at least we still know that Kobe Bryant hasn't lost any athletic abilities, as he throws down an alley-oop against Sacramento.

25. Dwyane Wade Goes Reverse on Vince Carter

We came to two realizations surrounding Dwyane Wade and Vince Carter during their meeting on Sunday.

Dwyane Wade happens to still be really good, and Vince Carter just seems to have lost any shred of talent he ever had.

Carter played the first half and was replaced by Delonte West upon the start of the second.

24. Kobe Bryant Throws the No-Look Pass to Pau Gasol

Kobe Bryant brings up memories of old as he unleashes the Magic Johnson pass to the cutting Pau Gasol.

Bryant garners the attention of three Sacramento Kings defenders before wisely passing it to Gasol for the easy dunk.

23. Lob City Makes Its Regular-Season Debut

We saw a number of alley-oops in the Clippers' two preseason games against the Los Angeles Lakers, but surprisingly, only one against a Golden State Warriors team that is just learning the ins and outs of defense.

It was an impressive one, however, as Caron Butler sent a perfect pass to DeAndre Jordan, who proceeded to throw it down.

22. D.J. Augustin and Corey Maggette Hook Up Above the Rim

One of the more underrated plays of the first days of opening week features a beautiful hookup between D.J. Augustin and newcomer Corey Maggette.

Being the athlete that he is, Maggette throws down the alley-oop with a thunderous slam.

21. Tyson Chandler Welcomes Himself to New York

Finishing with six blocks, Tyson Chandler showed why he is the $15 million man of the New York Knicks.

He only had seven points, but two of them came off of this gorgeous alley-oop feed from Carmelo Anthony at the perimeter.

20. Dwight Howard Throws It Down

The Orlando Magic would prefer not to remember too much from their opening-day loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Aside from this thunderous Dwight Howard slam, the Magic didn't have much to be excited about.

19. DeAndre Jordan Swats 8 Shots

The Los Angeles Clippers might have overspent on center DeAndre Jordan, but they won't be too wary as long as he continues to rack up blocks like he did in the season opener against Golden State.

In the Clippers' first game of the season, Jordan recorded a career-high eight blocks to lead the defense.

18. Kevin Garnett Gets Fancy with Jermaine O'Neal

It turns out that Rajon Rondo isn't the only player on the Boston Celtics that knows how to pass.

Kevin Garnett shows off his passing ability with a pinpoint, behind-the-back pass to Jermaine O'Neal, who then finished with a layup and a foul.

17. Ricky Rubio Gives Minnesota Something to Look Forward to

There hasn't been much to look forward to for the Minnesota Timberwolves' fanbase up until now with the arrival of Ricky Rubio.

While many believe that Rubio won't be able to handle the physicality and aggressiveness of the NBA, he didn't show any signs of being fearful, as he dished out six assists with zero turnovers in his debut, including this unbelievable pass to fellow rookie Derrick Williams.

The Wolves only lost by four points to the Thunder.

16. Lob City Still Resides in Miami

The Los Angeles Clippers have a long way to go before they get the distinction of being known as "lob city."

That location currently resides in the locations across the country where the Miami Heat take their talents to. On this particular play, they decided to delight their home crowd with the standard alley-oop from Dwyane Wade to LeBron James.

15. Manu Ginobili Shows off His PG Skills

Manu Ginobili has always been recognized as a versatile and creative player, and he just gave us one more reason to believe that after the San Antonio Spurs' win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Ginobili drives and dishes out a perfect behind-the-back pass to a waiting Kawhi Leonard at the perimeter, who proceeds to make the easy three-pointer.

14. Rudy Gay Dunks on the Spurs

Rudy Gay is known to perform random acts of violence.

Here's one of those acts, as he takes on the entire San Antonio Spurs defense and dunks it all over Matt "Red Rocket" Bonner.

13. Kobe Bryant Spins and Wins vs. Chicago

Prior to some questionable decisions later on, Kobe Bryant showed us all why he is still the league's deadliest player only a few seconds earlier.

With his team only up by four and a minute remaining, Bryant took on two defenders, spun and hit an unbelievable fade-away to give the Lakers a six-point lead.

It should have been enough to win the game, but four missed free throws by Josh McRoberts and Pau Gasol certainly didn't help.

12. Russell Westbrook Crosses Luke Ridnour

Your first crossover victim of the year goes to Luke Ridnour, who looks like he took a sniper's bullet with the way he went down.

Russell Westbrook happened to be the sniper, while also adding insult to injury by making the shot.

11. DeAndre Jordan Starts It and Blake Griffin Finishes

The Los Angeles Clippers planned on being one of the league's most exciting teams.

They started that early with a 105-86 victory over the Golden State Warriors. One of the defining plays, seen here, featured DeAndre Jordan ripping the ball out of David Lee's hands and then starting a two-man fastbreak between Chauncey Billups and Blake Griffin.

With Stephen Curry being the only one on defense, you could guess how it would end up.

10. Derrick Rose Finishes the Impossible Reverse Layup

On a night where he took over Staples Center by the end of the game, Derrick Rose made his presence felt throughout, specifically with this acrobatic layup he had late in the fourth quarter.

He finished the night with 22 points, five assists and four three-pointers.

9. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant Ignite the Break

It didn't take long for Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder to show off their dominance. An easy win over Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic provided little to no suspense down the stretch like a few other Christmas games.

That's not to say there weren't plays of memorable highlights, however.

Westbrook dishes it off to Durant, who throws down the tomahawk slam off the fast break.

8. Kobe Bryant Gets Denied at the Buzzer

Kobe Bryant should have known better than to attempt to take on the frontcourt of the Chicago Bulls.

A step back and a jump shot would have done the job. Instead of taking on three defenders on his drive, he would have only had to take on his assignment had he taken the jumper.

Alas, that didn't happen, and the Bulls walked away with a one-point victory because of it. Credit to Luol Deng for the game-saving block.

7. Rajon Rondo Goes Isiah Thomas Against New York

We have come to realize that Rajon Rondo is a solid passer.

He continues to reaffirm this theory with a stellar half-court pass that just skates by Bill Walker and ends up in the hands of Marquis Daniels, who finishes with a layup.

6. The Big 3 Unleash the Beast in Dallas

We get to see the big three all play a part in this one during their dominant victory over the 2011 NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.

It starts off with Dwyane Wade doing the impossible by blocking a jump shot from Dirk Nowitzki. He then passes it off to the cutting LeBron James, who then sends the no-look pass to the trailing Chris Bosh, who throws it down to complete the fast break.

5. Carmelo Anthony Gets Clutch on the Boston Celtics

Finishing with 17 fourth-quarter points, including the two free throws that gave the New York Knicks the win, Carmelo Anthony took over and hit all of the team's shots down the stretch to ensure a two-point victory over the Boston Celtics.

After blowing a big lead early, Anthony led the rally and would hit a number of clutch shots, including this one to tie it up and bring the Knicks back into it.

4. Caron Butler Goes Up and over the Backboard

We've seen Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James do it, but Caron Butler took the over-the-backboard shot to another level by converting the shot with the foul.

3. Stephen Curry and Dorrell Wright Go 70 Feet for the Alley-Oop

On a team that likes to run and stretch the floor like Golden State, you know that you're due for at least one alley-oop.

Usually those alley-oops are memorable and highlight worthy, which includes this 70-foot lob from Stephen Curry to Dorell Wright.

2. Derrick Rose Begins His Case for a 2nd MVP

Derrick Rose was criticized for his lack of quality play during crucial moments of the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals.

We quickly forgot about that once Rose went Kobe Bryant against Kobe Bryant's own team.

Following a crucial turnover by Bryant, Rose took on Derek Fisher and easily won with a crossover. It only got more difficult from there as Rose hit a floater over the outstretched hands of the 7'0" Pau Gasol to give the Bulls the lead with four seconds left.

1. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James Complete the Double Alley-Oop

We've seen these two Miami Heat stars combine for a number of memorable alley-oops in their first season.

They decided to continue the trend with an unbelievable double alley-oop that featured Mario Chalmers throwing up a pass to LeBron James. With Shawn Marion defending James on the alley, LeBron wisely tipped it to a cutting Dwyane Wade, who then slammed it home to put the Heat up by 35 points.