OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA – APRIL 6: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives around Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first quarter at Paycom Center on April 6, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by William Purnell/Getty Images)
Getty Images
The 2025-26 NBA season tipped off Tuesday night with two blockbuster showdowns. The Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets in double overtime, while the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers were no match for Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
The NBA has 12 more games on tap Wednesday and another loaded slate on Friday. Before long, we’ll be knee-deep in the regular season, and it will feel as if the NBA never even left.
There are plenty of storylines worth monitoring this season, from the new-look Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic to some fading legends who may be entering the final few years of their legendary careers. Fans of virtually every team have at least one thing to look forward to, but some storylines rise to the top of the leaguewide leaderboard.
Let’s walk through some of the biggest things to keep an eye on in 2025-26.
Can Anyone Stop The Thunder?
Last year, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the second-youngest team in NBA history to win a championship, trailing only the 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers. They didn’t exactly romp through the playoffs like the early-2000s Lakers—the Indiana Pacers took them to a Game 7 in the NBA Finals, after all—but they got the job done well ahead of schedule.
The Thunder are effectively running back the same squad this year, except they’ll be adding 2024 late-lottery pick Nikola Topić to the fold once he returns from a testicular procedure in a few weeks. Other teams that made major offseason upgrades could have an advantage over OKC in that regard, although the Thunder’s main pieces are all young enough that significant internal improvement is still well within the realm of possibility.
The NBA hasn’t had a repeat champion since the Durant and Curry-led Warriors in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Will the Thunder defy the NBA’s ongoing quest for parity and become the first repeat champion in nearly a decade? They’ll spend the entire season defending their crown from all challengers.
The Last Ride For LeBron James?
In early October, LeBron James teased at a potential retirement announcement with what wound up being an ad campaign for Hennessy. Although James has yet to reveal when he’ll be hanging up his shoes for good, his 23rd season is off to an inauspicious start.
A few days after his “Second Decision” stunt, the Lakers revealed that LeBron would miss at least 3-4 weeks because of sciatica on his right side. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, he’s hoping to return in mid-November, which means he’s likely to miss at least the Lakers’ first 10 games of the season.
Luka Dončić did his damnedest to carry the Lakers sans LeBron against the Warriors, as he finished with 43 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Austin Reaves chipped in 26 points, nine assists and five rebounds, but Deandre Ayton was the only other Laker to crack double digits in scoring. That might not quell any concerns LeBron has about the Lakers’ ability to compete for a championship this season.
If this season is it for LeBron—whether in L.A. or the NBA in general—will he go out on top a la Peyton Manning in Denver? Or if the Lakers aren’t in position to compete for a championship by the Feb. 5 trade deadline, will he be open to a move elsewhere?
Will The NBA’s New Media Partners Celebrate The Game?
The NBA is entering the first year of its new 11-year national TV contracts with Disney (ESPN/ABC), Amazon and NBC. According to Ben Golliver of the Washington Post, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is hoping that the new media partners “educate and celebrate” fans “rather than spark angry debates or denigrate the modern game.”
NBC’s new panel of Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter were far less negative on opening night than a typical episode of Inside The NBA, although they had plenty of great content to sink their teeth into. The real test will come once NBC or Amazon airs a game between two rebuilding teams, or once we get into the late-season dregs where teams are actively jostling for lottery positioning.
Candace Parker and Dwyane Wade, both of whom are on Prime Video’s roster, already got some TV reps with Turner Sports, while Steve Nash has been hosting the Mind The Game podcast with LeBron ever since JJ Redick took over as the Lakers’ head coach. Dirk Nowitzki, Blake Griffin, John Wall and Udonis Haslem round out a star-studded panel that could reinvent how the NBA is presented to a national audience.
Will Teams Hoard Their 2026 Cap Space?
Restricted free agency was not kind to players this offseason, but it could be a far different landscape next offseason. Unlike this year, when the Brooklyn Nets were the only team with significant spending power, more than a half-dozen teams project to have salary-cap space next summer.
A number of 2022 first-round picks did reach last-minute extensions with their respective teams, including Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe and forward Toumani Camara, and Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun. However, Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey and center Jalen Duren, Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason and Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin are all set to become restricted free agents next summer.
The top of the free-agent class has already gotten whittled down after Dončić, Jaren Jackson Jr. and De’Aaron Fox all signed extensions. Now that teams know which 2022 first-round picks will and won’t be hitting the market as restricted free agents next year, will some decide to preemptively spend their cap space by flipping expiring contracts for longer-term deals that come with additional assets attached?
Which Stars May Be On The Move?
As much as Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo may try to tamp down trade speculation, Charania ripped that Band-Aid off with an explosive report in early October. If the Bucks get off to a slow start this season, the speculation about the Greek Freak’s long-term future in Milwaukee will reach a rolling boil.
He isn’t the only star whom teams will be monitoring, though. The Hawks have yet to sign star guard Trae Young to an extension even though he can become an unrestricted free agent next summer. They loaded up this offseason by adding Kristaps Porziņģis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard, but questions will linger about Young’s future in Atlanta until he signs a new deal.
Other teams could decide to pivot off their stars depending how the season goes, too. While Jimmy Butler’s departure from Miami was fairly predictable heading into last season, who in their right mind expected Dončić to wind up on the Lakers by February?
If there’s one thing we know about the NBA in recent years, it’s that the next major superstar trade is just around the corner.
How Will The Clippers’ Cap-Circumvention Scandal End?
Pablo Torre has released a series of damning podcast episodes in recent weeks detailing how the Los Angeles Clippers might have circumvented the NBA’s salary cap. According to Torre’s reporting Clippers invested millions of dollars in an environmental company that later signed star forward Kawhi Leonard to a “no-show” endorsement deal.
The NBA has begun a full investigation into Torre’s allegations. Depending on what the investigation uncovers, the league’s response will have massive ramifications.
If the NBA decides not to drop the hammer on the Clippers, other teams may begin to follow suit and set up similar deals for their stars. It could become a behind-the-scenes free-for-all whenever a star player becomes a free agent. But if the NBA drops the hammer on the Clippers, it would send a clear message about how seriously it takes circumvention.
The league’s investigation isn’t expected to end anytime soon, but it’ll be lingering over the Clippers all season until it does.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.
Follow Bryan on Bluesky.