Key Takeaways
- The Oklahoma City Thunder return as defending champs, aiming for a rare back-to-back title run.
- Injuries to stars like Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, and Kyrie Irving could shift early season momentum.
- Rising talents such as Cooper Flagg and Victor Wembanyama are stepping into bigger roles as the league evolves.
With the regular season starting today (Oct. 21), fans are eager to see how the league will shake out. So I’m here to help you get the lay of the land when it comes to the NBA for the 2025-26 season. There are some old faces in new places and some new faces to watch since they might just be next up. From LeBron and Steph, the vets whose careers are on the back-end, to Wemby and Flagg, who could very well be on top of the league one day, here are some storylines to look out for as you tune in.
If you’re anything like me, you've been waiting for the NBA since the Finals ended. With that, we will start by acknowledging the 2025 NBA champs, Oklahoma City Thunder. The youngest team in the league last year, led by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, won the title by beating the Indiana Pacers in 7. They were the odds-on favorite for the majority of the season, earning a league high of 68 wins. For the 2025-26 campaign, they’re returning with all their core players, with every member of their Big 3 getting new contracts. SGA is set to become the highest-paid player annually, as his new deal sets him up to be the cornerstone of the franchise going forward. OKC could become the first back-to-back champions since the Golden State Warriors in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
The rest of the NBA has their sights set on knocking them off that throne!
The Houston Rockets, who finished second behind OKC in the West with 52 wins, added former MVP Kevin Durant. The Denver Nuggets, who took OKC to 7 games, added some key depth with players like Cam Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and a returning Bruce Brown. The Lakers will have a full training camp and season to work with Luka Doncic, as they try to get back to the promised land (where they often find themselves). The Spurs, with a young core led by Victor Wembanyama, who may be on his way to becoming the best player in the NBA, are looking to take that next step and compete in the playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks, who shocked the NBA by trading away then-franchise player Doncic, have come out of that with what seems to be a very deep and exciting team. They drafted rookie Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick; he’ll start at point guard while Kyrie Irving recovers from an ACL tear that he suffered in March. And we can’t leave out Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, who finished the season with a 22-6 record after adding Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline.
The West is pretty stacked as you can tell, but the East will look very different because of injuries to starting players. The Boston Celtics will be without Jayson Tatum, and the Indiana Pacers (coming off that Finals appearance) won’t have Tyrese Haliburton. Indiana has ruled Haliburton out for the year, so he won’t be back until the 2026-27 season. While the Boston Celtics have yet to rule Tatum out for the year, he will miss most of this season. This leaves the door open for the New York Knicks to finally break through and make it back to the Finals for the first time since 1999. They will, however, have to worry about the Cleveland Cavaliers, who won 64 games during their 2024-25 run and are returning with all their key players.
Th 2025-26 NBA season definitely has some intrigue to it, and I’m excited to see what will happen. Do Curry, Butler and the Golden State Warriors have what it takes to compete? LeBron James -- who is not retiring despite the trick he played on us all with that Hennessy ad -- will definitely want to compete for a championship.
There is no shortage of players aiming for the crown -- from the aforementioned vets to rising stars like Wemby and Flagg. Let’s see how it all plays out!!
