NBA 2024-25 season preview: Start date, favourites, players, how to watch

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With the 2024-25 National Basketball Association (NBA) season fast approaching, the NBA’s 30 teams are making final preparations ahead of what promises to be one of the most competitive seasons ever.

Here is all you need to know about the upcoming season:

When does the 2024-25 NBA season start?

The new NBA season opens on Tuesday, October 22 with the New York Knicks visiting the defending champions the Boston Celtics, starting at 23:30 GMT (6.30pm local time) at TD Garden Arena in Boston.

What is the format?

In the regular season, the 30 teams play 82 games over a period of seven months.
At the end of the season, the top six teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences will automatically qualify for the postseason.
The next-best teams – ranked 7-10 from both conferences – will enter into a play-in tournament to secure the remaining seventh and eighth postseason positions in each conference.

Who are the favourites to win the title?

In the Eastern Conference, the NBA champion Boston Celtics are the consensus pick by bookmakers and league executives to again win the conference, and are also the favourite team to repeat as champions. The New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers are considered by many basketball commentators to be the biggest threats to Boston in the east.
In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the shortest odds to win the conference. Close behind them are several strong title contenders: The Denver Nuggets, last season’s NBA runner-up Dallas Mavericks, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns.

Boston Celtics player holds NBA Championship trophy.

What are the key dates on the 2024-25 NBA schedule?

October 22, 2024: NBA regular season starts
November 2, 2024: NBA Mexico City Game 2024 (Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards)
November 12, 2024: Emirates NBA Cup (the in-season tournament) starts
December 17, 2024: Emirates NBA Cup Championship
January 23 & 25, 2025: NBA Paris Games (San Antonio Spurs vs Indiana Pacers)
February 6, 2025: NBA trade deadline
February 14-16, 2025: NBA All-Star Game (held in San Francisco, California)
April 13, 2025: NBA regular season ends
April 15-18: NBA Play-In Tournament
April 19: NBA Playoffs begin
June: NBA Finals (exact dates TBD)

#1. LeBron and Bronny James: The first father-son duo to play together on an NBA team

The countdown is on for when the NBA’s leading scorer of all time, LeBron James, becomes the first player to share the court with his son.

LeBron’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers, play their opening match of the regular season on Tuesday, October 22 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Will this be the day when father-son history is made, or will it drag on well into the season?

#2. The race for the MVP: SGA vs Luka

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic.

The oddsmakers are predicting that Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic will be the two main contenders for the NBA regular-season most valuable player (MVP) award.

Last season, both players put up outrageously impressive numbers: SGA averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 75 games; and Doncic averaged 33.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds in 70 games.

Adding to the enticing MVP race between this pair, the two superstars play in the same conference and their teams have an emerging rivalry after they went six games in a feisty, Western Conference, second-round match-up last season with Doncic’s team prevailing.

#3. NBA teams tanking for the Cooper Flagg draft

Flagg might be the most hyped small forward rookie prospect since Lebron James was drafted way back in 2003.

Flagg, 17, is not even in the NBA yet and has recently committed to play for US college powerhouse Duke University for the 2024-25 season.

But with the 2.06m (six-foot, nine-inch) native of Newport, Maine considered the consensus number one selection in next year’s draft, several NBA teams are expected to tank – a common practice whereby already-struggling teams are incentivised to lose more – to increase their odds of landing the 2025 number one draft pick.

With Flagg a potential franchise-saving star on the horizon, the 2024-25 NBA season could be defined as much by the race to the bottom of the standings, as it is to the top.

Which key players moved teams in the offseason?

#1. Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia players pose for photo during media day.

Long considered an archetypal small forward in today’s NBA – tall, great shooter, and possessing strong passing and defensive skills – George signed as a free agent with the 76ers in the off season after spending the last five seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Nicknamed “PG-13”, George is a nine-time NBA All-Star and six-time member of the All-NBA Team, as well as a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team.

The 34-year-old’s arrival in Philadelphia completes perhaps the NBA’s most lethal “Big Three” combination entering the 2024-25 season, with George joining forces with former NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Joel Embiid and the league’s most improved player from last season, guard Tyrese Maxey.

#2. Karl Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks

The 2.11m (6-foot, 11-inch) forward-centre was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the New York Knicks, where he will link up with mercurial point guard Jaylen Brunson as one of the league’s most lethal 1-2 combinations.

Towns, a four-time NBA All-Star, is one of 10 players in NBA history to have averaged at least 22 points and 10 rebounds per game over their career (minimum of 500 total games).

The 28-year-old’s arrival at the famous Knicks franchise elevates them to one of the NBA title favourites for 2024-25.

The Knicks are hoping Towns’s arrival at Madison Square Garden will deliver their long-suffering fans a first NBA title since 1973.

Where did the 30 teams finish last season?

NBA Standings 2023-24 (Eastern Conference) and win-loss record:

Boston Celtics 64-18
New York Knicks 50-32
Milwaukee Bucks 49-33
Cleveland Cavaliers 48-34
Orlando Magic 47-35
Indiana Pacers 47-35
Philadelphia 76ers 47-35
Miami Heat 46-36
Chicago Bulls 39-43
Atlanta Hawks 36-46
Brooklyn Nets 32-50
Toronto Raptors 25-57
Charlotte Hornets 21-61
Washington Wizards 15-67
Detroit Pistons 14-68

NBA Standings 2023-24 (Western Conference) and win-loss record:

Oklahoma City Thunder 57-25
Denver Nuggets 57-25
Minnesota Timberwolves 56-26
Los Angeles Clippers 51-31
Dallas Mavericks 50-32
Phoenix Suns 49-33
New Orleans Pelicans 49-33
Los Angeles Lakers 47-35
Sacramento Kings 46-36
Golden State Warriors 46-36
Houston Rockets 41-41
Utah Jazz 31-51
Memphis Grizzlies 27-55
San Antonio Spurs 22-60
Portland Trail Blazers 21-61

How to watch the 2024-25 NBA season?

The NBA League Pass continues to offer out-of-market games, live access to NBA TV, and on-demand replays of every game. Please consult local TV guides for cable/satellite services in your region.

You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated basketball page with all the news and features, as well as event build-up and live text commentary on selected NBA matches during the 2024-25 season.

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