The start of a new NBA season always brings a familiar mix of excitement, optimism and wildly premature predictions. Every team has a clean slate, every contender looks dangerous on paper, and every fan can convince themselves that this might finally be the year.
The 2026-27 season has plenty of questions waiting to be answered. Can the New York Knicks defend their championship? Will the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs turn their budding rivalry into the next great NBA feud? Can Philadelphia’s collection of stars actually fit together?
With so many teams entering the season with legitimate ambitions, these are some of the storylines that could shape the NBA over the months ahead.
Can the Knicks Go Back-to-Back?
After waiting 53 years to win another NBA championship, the New York Knicks now face a very different challenge: proving they can do it again. The pressure is greater, the expectations are higher, and every opponent will be looking to knock off the defending champions.
The good news for New York is that the team doesn’t need to reinvent itself. Jalen Brunson remains at the centre of everything, while Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and the rest of the Knicks’ core give them a strong combination of scoring, size and experience.
The bigger question is whether the Knicks can handle being the team everyone wants to beat. Winning 82 games isn’t the goal, but New York will need to stay healthy, avoid a slow start and secure a strong playoff position in an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference.
The Knicks have already shown they can win a championship. Now they have to prove they can handle the expectations that come with being the team holding the trophy.
Could Thunder vs. Spurs Become the NBA’s Next Great Rivalry?
The Thunder and Spurs already have the foundation for something special. Both teams are built around young superstars, both have assembled deep supporting casts and both look capable of competing near the top of the Western Conference for years to come. Their paths have also already crossed on the biggest stage, making this more than just a hypothetical future rivalry.
Oklahoma City has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading a team that already knows what it takes to win a championship. San Antonio, meanwhile, has Victor Wembanyama, whose ceiling seems to get higher every time he steps on the court.
The best rivalries need stars, competitive teams and meaningful games. These two have all three. If they continue meeting in the playoffs, Thunder-Spurs could become one of the NBA’s defining matchups for the next decade.
Can the New-Look 76ers Put It All Together?
There are NBA rosters that look impressive on paper, and then there is what Philadelphia has put together. The 76ers enter the season with LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, giving them a collection of star power that would have sounded almost ridiculous a year ago.
Of course, basketball doesn’t get played on paper. The challenge for Philadelphia will be figuring out how all those pieces fit together when the games actually matter. Embiid needs the ball. Maxey needs room to operate. Brown is at his best when he’s aggressive. And LeBron has spent his entire career being one of the most influential players on the court.
Then there is the health question, which has followed the 76ers for years. Having four major stars means very little if they can’t stay on the floor together. Still, the potential is obvious. If Philadelphia finds the right balance and stays healthy, it could have enough talent to challenge anyone in the league. If the chemistry doesn’t work, the Sixers could become the ultimate example of why collecting stars isn’t always the same thing as building a team.
Can Giannis Put Miami Back in the Title Picture?
Miami finally got the superstar it had been chasing, and it’s difficult to imagine a bigger swing. The Heat traded Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware and a pile of draft capital to bring Giannis Antetokounmpo to South Beach, pairing the two-time MVP with Bam Adebayo.
Giannis and Adebayo give Miami one of the league’s most imposing frontcourts. Both can defend, rebound and create offence, while Giannis gives the Heat something they’ve been missing since the Jimmy Butler era: a genuine superstar who can take over a game when everything slows down in the playoffs.
There is a catch, though. Giannis and Adebayo aren’t exactly known for stretching the floor, so Miami will need its shooters to make teams pay for packing the paint. And while Erik Spoelstra is about as good as it gets at figuring out how to make unusual lineups work, this is still a very different Heat team from the one that went 43-39 and landed in the Play-In last season.
If Giannis stays healthy and Spoelstra can get the offence clicking, Miami has a legitimate path back into the championship conversation. But if the spacing becomes a problem or the new pieces struggle to mesh, the Heat could find themselves with a superstar and a whole lot of expensive questions.
The Real Fun Starts Now
The NBA season will eventually answer all of these questions, but it will almost certainly create plenty of new ones along the way. The Knicks might repeat, Wembanyama might take another giant leap, Giannis might turn Miami into a contender, or one of the league’s other stars could completely change the conversation.
That’s what makes the start of a new season so interesting. We have plenty of predictions, plenty of questions and, as always, plenty of time for the NBA to make all of us look foolish.