The NBA season returns.
This year’s opening games will air entirely on NBC/Peacock. The season begins in Detroit, where last season’s conference leaders meet in a matchup that will test their continuity and ability to sustain success. This game offers an early look at how offseason changes and team strengths could shape another playoff run.
At Madison Square Garden, the Knicks begin their first title defense in 53 years against a retooled Philadelphia team.
In San Antonio, two of the league’s most talented young teams meet in a rematch. One team is coming off a championship, while the other reached the Finals last season. Both squads are defined by young talent and recent playoff experience.
Boston Celtics @ Detroit Pistons — 3 p.m. EST
The Boston Celtics enter the 2026–27 season looking to return to the top of the Eastern Conference. They have finished in the top three each of the last two years but were eliminated by lower seeds, often due to limited interior scoring. In their 2025 loss to New York, Boston’s interior shooting percentage was below the league average. The following year against Philadelphia, they made just 28% of their three-pointers over the final three games.
To address these issues, Boston traded Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George, added veteran guard Mike Conley and signed center Mitchell Robinson. With Jayson Tatum leading the roster, the Celtics look to convert regular-season offensive efficiency into postseason results.
Detroit offers a different profile, generating 56% of their scoring inside and ranking second in paint points with a +14.2 point differential in the paint. However, they were outscored by five points per game from beyond the arc, highlighting perimeter struggles.
Detroit improved from 14 wins in 2023–24 to 60 last season before falling to Cleveland in a seven-game semifinal series. To maintain momentum, the team extended Jalen Duren ($200M) and Ausar Thompson ($155M). The challenge will be replacing Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart, who were the team’s third-leading scorer and block leader.
Philadelphia 76ers @ New York Knicks — 7 p.m. EST
The New York Knicks completed one of the most dominant title runs in NBA history, losing only three games: Games 2 and 3 of their first-round series against Atlanta and Game 3 of the NBA Finals against San Antonio.
New York was one of the few teams to post a higher offensive efficiency in the postseason (120.4 points per 100 possessions) than in the regular season (119.8). Their best 10-game stretch came just before the Finals, averaging 127 points per 100 possessions.
As mentioned, they lost Robinson to a division rival but gained UConn alum Andre Drummond, who previously played for the Philadelphia 76ers.
No team has repeated an NBA champion in the last nine years. The Knicks begin their title defense against a Philadelphia roster that looks significantly different from previous matchups.
Philadelphia added Brown and LeBron James, the NBA’s longest-active player. The team features a young backcourt with VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey and faces a strengthened Eastern Conference in pursuit of a Finals return.
This is one of the most talented rosters Philadelphia has assembled around Joel Embiid in recent years.
Health remains the primary concern, particularly for Embiid, who has played in just 96 of 246 regular-season games over the last three years. With James aging, Philadelphia will depend on its younger players and roster depth in critical moments.
Oklahoma City Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs — 9 p.m. EST
The Thunder began last season as defending NBA champions. The roster looks different now following the departures of Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe.
Oklahoma City allowed 8.3 fewer points per 100 possessions than the league average (114.8) last season, the second-best defensive differential in the play-by-play era. Only the 2003–04 Spurs posted a better mark over that span.
Jalen Williams missed much of the season and the playoffs and Oklahoma City’s offense declined as a result. The team averaged just 95.8 points per 100 possessions in its four Western Conference Finals losses.
Key questions for Oklahoma City include whether Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can sustain MVP-level play, if Chet Holmgren will improve offensively and whether Jalen Williams can stay healthy this season.
San Antonio, like Oklahoma City, features a roster full of young talent. The Spurs reached the Finals but lost in large part due to execution, surrendering double-digit leads in every game, including the largest blown lead in NBA Finals history.
The Spurs’ core, including Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, Julian Champaigne, alongside UConn alums Stephon Castle and Tarris Reed Jr. are all under 25. The group has room to develop and last season’s Finals loss will serve as a learning experience for a team eager to return.
A key question is how many minutes Dylan Harper will play. The likely answer is a three-guard starting lineup with De’Aaron Fox, Castle and Harper. This approach could limit opportunities for Reed Jr. and Bryant, but with sufficient depth, the rotation can remain effective.