NEW YORK — The defending champion New York Knicks will collect their rings and watch a banner go up at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night before opening the NBA season against a Philadelphia 76ers roster that now includes LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. The game leads off an opening-night tripleheader for the league, which is starting its 81st season.
New York became the eighth different champion in eight seasons, a stretch with no precedent in league history, and no team has won back-to-back titles since Golden State in 2017 and 2018. Even so, the Knicks are not the betting favorites this time. That label is split between Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio, who reached the Finals after a Game 7 win in Oklahoma City, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder.
The offseason reshaped the Eastern Conference. Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to Miami, Kawhi Leonard went back to Toronto, and Boston brought in Paul George to replace Brown alongside Jayson Tatum. Four of the past eight Finals MVPs will be wearing new jerseys. In Philadelphia, the new stars join Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, who averaged a career-best 28.3 points a game last season, raising obvious questions about how one ball gets shared.
Indiana gets Tyrese Haliburton back after he missed last season with a torn Achilles suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals. Myles Turner is gone, and Ivica Zubac and Kelly Oubre Jr. have arrived. Detroit, which finished as the top seed in the East behind Cade Cunningham, and Cleveland return largely the same rosters.
Out West, Nikola Jokic and Denver, Stephen Curry and Golden State, Luka Doncic and the Lakers, and Kevin Durant in Houston all expect to contend, while Minnesota paired LaMelo Ball with Anthony Edwards and Damian Lillard is finally set to suit up in Portland. Six teams have new head coaches, including Dusty May, who left an NCAA title at Michigan for Dallas, and Taylor Jenkins, who takes over a Milwaukee team rebuilding without Antetokounmpo. The NBA Cup final moves from Las Vegas to Indianapolis this season, and All-Star weekend will be held in Phoenix.
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