POV: You’re a TV about to air Tuesday’s Opening Night doubleheader on NBC.
- 7:30 ET: Rockets at Thunder
- 10 ET: Warriors at Lakers
Steph’s ready for the 2025-26 sprint. Are you?
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Oct. 20, 2025
Get Ready For Amex Tip-Off: Everything you need to know for 2025-26 in two minutes
Watch Guide: Your complete viewing roadmap for this season – from NBC’s return to Prime’s debut
Preseason Pulse: Some of the top storylines from a packed two weeks of tune-ups
Predicting The East: How do NBA.com’s writers see the East playing out?
Predicting The West: Will we see another epic postseason race out West?
BUT FIRST … ⏰
The wait is almost over…
Opening Night is just one day away, featuring a standalone doubleheader on NBC & Peacock.
First, the Thunder raise their championship banner in OKC before facing Kevin Durant and the revamped Rockets (7:30 ET). Then, Steph Curry’s Warriors visit Luka Dončić and the Lakers in Los Angeles (10 ET).
- KD Extension: Ahead of his Rockets debut tomorrow, Durant has agreed to a two-year extension with Houston, including a 2027-28 player option
It’s NBA Jersey Day: Wear your favorite jersey today to celebrate a new NBA season. Share your jersey on social for NBA Jersey Day and tune in for American Express NBA Tip-Off on Tuesday.
NBA Cares Turns 20: Saturday marked 20 years of NBA Cares – using the power of basketball to connect with fans and serve communities worldwide. Tap to explore NBA Cares’ off-court legacy and join to make a difference.
1. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR 2025-26
One. More. Sleep.
That’s all that separates us from Opening Night of the 2025-26 NBA season – and the start of another nine-month sprint full of posters, promise and the pursuit of a title.
Before OKC raises its banner to commence the new chase, here’s everything you need to know for Amex NBA Tip-Off.
- Key Dates: Every major pillar of the 2025-26 calendar – from Opening Night to the NBA Finals
- Amex Season Preview Hub: Power rankings, team snapshots, top storylines and expert predictions for all 30 squads
- Free Agency Hub: All the offseason news from all 30 teams, all in one place
- 2025 Draft Center: Complete coverage of the 2025 NBA Draft – every pick, every surprise, every team
Ethan Miller/NBAE via Getty Images
- All Things NBA Cup: Dive into the Emirates NBA Cup 2025 schedule, group breakdowns, format, FAQs and more
- NBA GM Survey: What the league’s top decision-makers expect in 2025-26 – from breakout candidates to title favorites
- Full 2025-26 Schedule: See your team’s road to the 2026 Playoffs
- Reimagined NBA TV & NBA App: A new 24/7 home for hoops, featuring The Association, live games, original programming and coast-to-coast coverage
The countdown’s almost over. Tomorrow, it’s time to hoop.
2. NEW SEASON, NEW WATCH GUIDE
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
The launch of the reimagined NBA TV & NBA App was just the beginning, as 2025-26 marks a new era of NBA viewing.
This season brings fresh faces, familiar sounds and more ways to watch than ever – spanning across ABC & ESPN, NBC & Peacock, Prime Video and League Pass.
NBC & Peacock: It all starts Opening Night when the NBA returns to NBC for the first time in more than two decades.
- Peacock NBA Monday: Beginning Oct. 27, Peacock will stream up to three games nationwide every Monday night
- Coast 2 Coast Tuesday: Starting Oct. 28, Tuesday nights bring doubleheaders on NBC and Peacock
- Sunday Night Basketball: Launching Feb. 1, Sundays feature primetime hoops on NBC and Peacock through April 5, including three doubleheaders
- The Voices? Mike Tirico, Noah Eagle, Reggie Miller, Jamal Crawford and Grant Hill headline the broadcast booth, with Hall of Famers Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady breaking it down in the studio
ABC & ESPN: The NBA on ESPN and ABC returns for its 24th straight season – now with a major twist.
Inside the NBA joins the lineup, bringing Ernie, Chuck, Kenny and Shaq to key ABC & ESPN games throughout the season
- Opening Week Doubleheaders: Coverage tips off Oct. 22-23 with a pair of back-to-back doubleheaders, including Cooper Flagg’s NBA debut on Wednesday (9:30 ET) and a Finals rematch between OKC & Indy on Thursday (7:30 ET)
- Weekly Slate: ESPN will continue to highlight Wednesday nights with weekly doubleheaders, before joining Friday nights midseason. Meanwhile, ABC will spotlight Saturday and Sunday matchups later in the season
- Home Of The Finals: ABC & ESPN remain the exclusive home for the NBA Finals – plus the Christmas Day slate
- Bang! Mike Breen is back as the lead play-by-play voice for ESPN & ABC, with Tim Legler joining the network’s lead crew
Prime: A brand-new home for hoops, Prime Video makes its NBA debut this Friday and will broadcast 66 regular-season games – including the Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals and semifinals, before the Championship Game on Dec. 16.
- Opening Week Debut: Prime’s first NBA action opens at the World’s Most Famous Arena as the Celtics face the Knicks at MSG (7:30 ET), before Anthony Edwards and the Wolves visit the Lakers (10 ET)
- Weekly Slate: Prime will host Friday games throughout the season before adding Thursday and Saturday coverage later in the year
- Play-In Exclusive: In addition to headlining the NBA Cup, Prime will be the exclusive home of all six games of the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament
- The Voices: Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash and Stan Van Gundy will all be in the booth, while Dirk Nowitzki, Blake Griffin and Udonis Haslem headline the studio analysts
Every Game, Everywhere: NBA League Pass remains your ticket for every non-national game and out-of-market matchup – available through cable, the NBA App or NBA.com.
With “Tap to Watch,” catching live games has never been easier – fans can jump straight from scrolling to streaming with one tap through league and team digital platforms and other NBA partners.
3. PRESEASON PULSE: A FEW STORYLINES TO KNOW BEFORE AMEX TIP-OFF
Ron Hoskins + Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Opening Night is up next and the buzz is building after a preseason brimming with intrigue.
From breakout rookies to vintage veteran buckets, here are a few of the standout storylines from preseason play, ahead of Tuesday’s regular season openers.
Year 3 Wemby: After his sophomore season was cut short, Victor Wembanyama took a unique road to recovery to rehab his body and refine his game – and the early results look terrifying for opponents.
- The Alien: The 7-foot-4 anomaly flashed his all-around brilliance this preseason, leading the 5-0 Spurs in points (17.0), rebounds (8.8) and blocks (2.0) in just 20.4 minutes per game
Embiid’s Back: Another 7-foot superstar shined in his return, as Joel Embiid flirted with a triple-double on Friday in just 19 minutes (14 pts, 7 reb, 8 ast) – marking his first NBA action since February.
- Philly Fire: More Sixers showed out in the win as Tyrese Maxey (27 pts, 7 ast) and this year’s No. 3 pick, VJ Edgecombe (26 pts, 5 stl), combined for 53 points
Rooks Cook: Edgecombe wasn’t the only top pick to turn heads this preseason. Cooper Flagg (No. 1 overall) flashed his versatility alongside Anthony Davis, Dylan Harper (No. 2) already appears to be clicking with Wemby and Utah’s Ace Bailey (No. 5) dropped a pair of 20-pieces.
- Yang & Ready: Portland’s No. 16 pick, Yang Hansen, also impressed, showing off his crafty bag and two-way playmaking (8.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg in 18.4 mpg)
Blast Off: But it was Kevin Durant – the offseason addition voted most likely to make the biggest impact in the GM Survey – who made perhaps the loudest statement, helping lead Houston to a 4-0 record while averaging 17.5 ppg on 56.5% shooting (2 gp).
- Houston Heat: KD wasn’t the only Rocket who looked sharp. Amen Thompson – voted by GMs as the player most likely to have a breakout season – backed it up with 17.0 points, 4.7 boards and 4.0 assists per game
- Sharp Start: Reed Sheppard also impressed, averaging 15.0 points while shooting 40.7% from deep in four outings
Top Form: While Houston, San Antonio and Orlando (4-0) finished as the only unbeaten preseason teams, multiple big names were among the top individual scorers, including Luka Dončić (28.0 ppg) and Cade Cunningham (20.7) – who each landed among the 10 names to watch in this year’s Kia MVP Ladder.
4. TRENDING TOPICS: PREDICTING THE EAST STANDINGS
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For five straight seasons, a different team has finished as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference – the Cavaliers (2024-25), Celtics (2023-24), Bucks (2022-23), Heat (2021-22) and 76ers (2020-21).
Will that streak extend to six seasons or will Cleveland become the first team to finish atop the East in back-to-back years since 2018-19 and 2019-20 Milwaukee?
With the season tipping off Tuesday, we asked four NBA.com writers to lock in their predictions for the Eastern Conference Playoff seeds. The average of their ballots produced the projected postseason order below – and some notable takeaways.
Projected Finish (Average Rank)
- 1. Cavaliers (1)
- 2. Knicks (2)
- 3. Magic (3)
- 4. Hawks (4.25)
- 5. Pistons (4.75)
- 6. Bucks (6.75)
- 7. 76ers (7.75)
- 8. Pacers (8)
- 9. Heat (8.5)
- 10. Celtics (9)
Rich Storry/NBAE via Getty Images
Takeaways from the predictions:
- Unanimous 10: All four writers had the same 10 teams making the postseason, differing only in order
- Consensus At The Top: The same order held among the top three teams, as the Cavs (1), Knicks (2) and Magic (3) received all four first-, second- and third-place votes, respectively
- Biggest Riser: Right behind them is Atlanta, which – after a busy offseason – is projected to finish 4th, a five-spot jump from last season’s 9th seed
- Detroit Respect: The Pistons – coming off a 30+ win single-season turnaround in 2024-25 – finished just behind Atlanta
- Split On Sixers: Philly showed the widest range of votes, landing as high as 6th and as low as 10th
5. TRENDING TOPICS: ANOTHER WILD WEST RACE?
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In 2024-25, the Thunder became the first team to earn the West’s top seed in back-to-back seasons since the 2015-16 and 2016-17 Warriors. Meanwhile, six teams (seeds 2-7) were separated by just four games.
How do the NBA.com writers see this year’s West regular-season standings playing out? According to their projections, the reigning champs remain the team to catch – with a pack of contenders in pursuit.
Projected Finish (Average Rank)
- 1. Thunder (1)
- 2. Nuggets (2.25)
- 3. Timberwolves (3.25)
- 4. Rockets (3.75)
- 5. Clippers (5.25)
- 6. Lakers (6.25)
- 7. Warriors (6.75)
- 8. Mavericks (8)
- 9. Spurs (8.5)
- 10. Grizzlies (two 10th-place votes)
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
Takeaways from the predictions:
- Crowded Chase: Nine teams appeared in the top 10 on all four ballots (OKC through San Antonio), with three more teams – Memphis (2), Sacramento (1) and Portland (1) – all receiving 10th-place votes
- OKC On Top: The Thunder were the only unanimous pick at No. 1, earning all four first-place votes
- Close Behind: Denver fell one vote shy of a unanimous No. 2 selection, with that lone nod going to Minnesota, which narrowly edged Houston for the 3-seed
- Razor Thin: The next five teams – the Clippers, Lakers, Warriors, Mavs, and Spurs – were separated by just 3.25 points. Could we see another neck-and-neck Playoff race out West?
The early predictions point to yes — another season where every night matters begins tomorrow.
