It officially starts on October 22. What to watch in the new NBA season?

Qilu Evening News·Qilu One Point Feng Zihan

The war is rising again, and there is a lot of suspense. The 2025-2026 NBA season will officially begin on October 22. In the Western battlefield, the defending champion Thunder aims to establish a dynasty, and the Rockets are eyeing Durant's arrival; the situation in the Eastern Conference has become suspenseful due to injuries to powerful teams. Whether the legendary superstar James will end his season will affect people's hearts every step of the way.

For Chinese fans, the biggest expectation this season is undoubtedly rising star Yang Hansen. In his first NBA season, he will face the test of many top insiders, and every step of his growth is worth looking forward to. In the new season, the story is ready and the excitement is about to be staged.

Watch the Western Conference

rocket take off to break the Thunder?

The Thunder will start a new journey as the defending champions in the new season. Strong and young, they are regarded as the favorites to top the Western Conference this year and even win the championship.

The Thunder did not have much personnel movement during the offseason, and the championship framework was retained. The new members were Topic and rookie Thomas Sauber; the one who left the team was Dillon Jones. The Thunder management, having tasted the sweetness, spent US$822 million on the new "three young men" Alexander, Holmgren and Jaylen Williams. The team's ambitions have been fully revealed: one championship is just the beginning, and they want to win more championships.

Competition in the Western Conference has always been fierce, and many teams are ambitious, such as the Rockets, which ranked second in the Western Conference last season.

This summer, the Rockets' signings can be said to be large-scale. In addition to signing Capela and Finney Smith, the most important thing is that they brought two-time Finals MVP Durant to this team with a very young core lineup. Coupled with All-Star center Shen Jing, as well as important puzzle pieces such as Adams, Jabari Smith Jr., and Ethan, the Rockets have strong paper strength.

However, main defender VanVleet is likely to be reimbursed for the season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which casts a shadow over the team's new season. The outside world currently believes that his replacements are Amen and Sheppard, but no matter who they play as the starting point guard, the effect will not be as good as VanVleet.

But the fall of "Van Jordan" does not mean that the Rockets will withdraw from the championship. They still have strong strength and the outside resources to overcome difficulties. In the new season, they will still be the strongest player in the Western Conference.

It is worth mentioning that the opening game of the new regular season is between the Thunder and Rockets. By then, as a former Thunder player, Durant will witness his old club being crowned champion as an opponent.

Look at the Eastern Conference

Who is the upstart after the reshuffle?

Compared with the "traditional" crazy involution of the Western Conference, the pattern of the Eastern Conference has undergone significant changes due to injuries. The two major teams, the Celtics (Tatum tore his Achilles tendon) and the Pacers (Haliburton torn his Achilles tendon), unexpectedly fell behind, leading to a reshuffle of the competition in the Eastern Conference.

When talking about the top spot in the Eastern Conference in the new season, the team that is often mentioned is the Cavaliers. Last season, they ranked first in the Eastern Conference with 64 wins and 18 losses, the second best result in a single season in team history. However, during the playoffs, Mobley and Garland were injured one after another, causing them to stop in the second round.

This summer, the Cavaliers retained their core team, added Lonzo Ball, and introduced third center Nance Jr. to deepen the thickness of the lineup. With the long rotation and shooter system, they can easily achieve results in the regular season, but in the playoffs, there is still a question mark as to whether the Cavaliers can stay healthy and match the intensity of the playoffs.

In addition to the Cavaliers, the Magic are also a favorite to win the Eastern Conference championship. They first showed their talents last season, and Banqueiro has gradually become the league's top forward. His forward combination with Franz Wagner is expected to become the Eastern Conference hegemon in the future.

In the offseason, the Magic continued to strengthen, and the management spent a lot of money, using Pope, Cole Anthony, 4 first-round picks and 1 first-round swap rights to acquire Bane from the Grizzlies, who will become the backcourt role with Suggs.

Interestingly, with the outside world's optimism, the Magic will also have 14 games broadcast nationwide in the new season, which is as many as they have in the past eight seasons combined!

Watch the last season of Lao Zhan's

Changhe?

In the upcoming 2025-2026 season, James will usher in the 23rd year of his NBA career, which is also the longest record for an NBA player to play in the league. Not only has his career been long enough, James has also maintained a very high influence on the game. He is one of the few superstars in the league who has not declined significantly in the later stages of his career.

More importantly, this may also be Lao Zhan's "last dance" in the NBA.

During this offseason, the Lakers did not sign the familiar "1+1" contract with James, and the latter also rarely exercised his $52.6 million player option in the final year. At the same time, on the basis of extending Doncic's maximum salary in advance, the Lakers also recruited Ayton and Smart to prepare for the "post-James era."

Although Lao Zhan has never said when he will be disbanded and return to his field, retirement is no longer far away.

On October 7, James released a short video trailer titled "Second Decision" on social media. As soon as the tweet came out, it instantly triggered the emotions of fans around the world. People are waiting with bated breath to speculate whether this means that the 40-year-old James will officially announce his retirement and start a career farewell tour. The fact is that "Decision Two" is just a cooperation with an alcohol brand, but the ambiguous notice really made fans break out in a cold sweat.

At the crossroads of his basketball career, any decision James makes will cause uproar in the NBA. There is no doubt that the time he can play on the court has entered the countdown.

At the beginning of the new season, everyone will not be able to see this legend appear on the stage yet. Previously, James will miss the opening game of the new season due to right sciatica. This is the first time in his career that he will miss the season opener.. According to the latest news, Lao Zhan will review the injury on October 30, and the Lakers plan to let him return in mid-November. Therefore, fans will have to wait a little longer if they want to see James appear.

Watch Hansen

The whole village hopes to grow slowly

For Chinese fans, the biggest expectation for the NBA in the new season is the performance of Chinese player Yang Hansen.

Turning back to the evening of June 25, local time, the Portland Trail Blazers, who took the initiative to trade down, offered Yang Hansen an olive branch with the 16th pick in the first round. This young man from Zibo who had just turned 20 years old finally realized his dream. The moment he put on the team's LOGO hat, Yang Hansen became the third Chinese player selected in the first round, which also meant that after 9 years, Chinese players once again opened the door to the NBA.

This summer, Yang Hansen became one of the most popular basketball players. Since the summer league, the outside world has been paying attention to how capable this Eastern face is. After 4 Summer League games, Xiao Yang averaged 10.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.3 blocks per game, which gave the outside world some "little shock".

Entering the preseason, Yang Hansen's performance has shown an overall upward trend, which shows his strong adaptability and learning ability. Especially in the game against the Kings, he scored 14 points in a row on all 5 shots in the third quarter, sending Portland fans into a frenzy.

Judging from coach Billups's preseason schedule, in the new regular season, as a substitute for starting center Klingen, Yang Hansen's average playing time may be about 15 minutes per game.

It should be noted that the Trail Blazers are a team driven by defenders and forwards, and the center is not the core of the offense. This limitation in positioning may affect Yang Hansen's rookie season data.

Judging from the schedule, Yang Hansen will fight tough battles at the beginning of the new NBA regular season. In the first game against the Timberwolves, he will face Gobert, who has won the Defensive Player of the Year four times and was selected to the All-Star Game three times; in the second game against the Warriors, he will face off against the veteran Horford; in the third game, he will face Zubac and Lopez of the Clippers; In the fourth game, he will face the Lakers' new aid Ayton; in the fifth game, he will face the Jazz's Nurkic; in the sixth game, he will face the Nuggets' Jokic, who is also Yang Hansen's idol; in the seventh game, he will face Ayton again, and in the eighth game, he will face the Thunder's Hartenstein and Holmgren.

The test is difficult, but the test must be passed. For Yang Hansen, playing against the top centers in the league is an excellent opportunity to learn and improve. As a fan, you don't need to pay too much attention to Yang Hansen's performance in the data column, but to watch his progress on the court. Let us use our long-term vision and warm support to accompany this young man in his initial years in the NBA. His journey has just begun.