10 questions heading into the 2025-26 NBA season
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson looks on against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first half of an NBA preseason game at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Can the Knicks win the Eastern Conference title?
The chances for this team to do just that will never be better as Boston and Indiana each lost its best player to an Achilles injury. The Knicks are stocked with talent but also are laden with expectations with fans desperate for the team to make the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. The Knicks could take a minute or two to adjust to coach Mike Brown’s fast-paced offense, but as long as Jalen Brunson remains healthy, they have a solid chance of coming out of the East.
What’s the deal with Cleveland?
Talk about a split personality. The Cavaliers streaked out of the gate last season with a 15-0 run and finished as the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 record before being run off the floor by the Pacers, 4-1, in the second round. The Cavaliers, who swept the Knicks in the regular season, should be on a collision course with the Knicks to reach the conference finals. Yet the same could have been said last season, and the Knicks dodged that bullet. The teams will open the season Wednesday night at the Garden.
Can anyone else in the East contend?
Orlando is a legit threat after adding scorer Desmond Bane to a team with a lot of good defensive players. The Pistons and Cade Cunningham were a tough first-round out for the Knicks last season and have the potential to make a jump. The Hawks have the potential to diversify their Trae Young-led offense.
Will Giannis Antetokounmpo finish the season with Milwaukee?
The Greek Freak wants to contend and has been flirting with the Knicks. His status will continue to be a topic of discussion, but it’s so hard to trade a megastar in midseason. The bet here is things don’t heat up until next summer.
Will Joel Embiid ever have a healthy season?
The 76ers apparently have a secret conditioning plan to keep their big man in the best shape of his life. Right now, Embiid’s career is a tragic story of unfulfilled promise. When he’s healthy, he’s the best big man in the East and maybe the NBA. And when he’s not? Well, we’ve all seen that.
Can SGA go back-to-back?
Oklahoma City is returning the top 13 players from last season's championship team, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who became the first player since 2000 to be named the MVP of both the regular season and the NBA Finals. The young Thunder team is a favorite to repeat, but Gilgeous-Alexander can expect some competition in the MVP department from Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson.
Will LeBron play forever?
Age is starting to catch up with LeBron James, who will turn 41 in December. The four-time MVP will miss opening night (sciatica) for t first time in his 23-year career. James, who averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds in 70 games for the Lakers last season, acknowledged last month that “the end is a lot sooner than later.”
Is Nico Harrison not as crazy as we thought?
Sure, the Mavericks' fan base is still upset about their general manager’s decision to trade Doncic to the Lakers. But the improbable draft lottery that landed them Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick was enough to get them to stow away the pitchforks. If Flagg lives up to the hype, Anthony Davis stays healthy and Kyrie Irving returns from his ACL injury in a timely fashion, the Mavs have the personnel and coaching to be interesting.
Will Victor Wembanyama ever stop growing?
The San Antonio center is listed as 7-5 after being listed as 7-3 in 2023-23, his rookie season. The 21-year-old Wembanyama, regardless of his actual height, is just a year or two away from being in the MVP conversation. He already is good enough to get the Spurs back to the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
Kevin Durant: A game-changing piece on the Rockets?
The Rockets had the second-best record in the Western Conference last season but fell apart in the first round of the playoffs. On paper, Durant looks like the scorer and the veteran leader that Houston has lacked. If he stays healthy and the team figures out how to deal with the loss of Fred VanVleet, they will go deep in the playoffs.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
