The NBA is back. Well, sort of. Preseason basketball is here, and while the games may not technically count, they do give us our first look at how all the offseason moves made around the league will play out. It was a long summer that included several stars switching teams and surprising free agency deals and trades, so the preseason is our first opportunity to overreact to a number of scenarios that will certainly change a few months from now.
The Celtics and Nuggets kick off preseason action in Abu Dhabi on Friday. But before then, here are five reasons to watch as all 30 NBA teams inch closer to the start of the 2024-25 regular season.
1. Familiar faces in new places
There are dozens of players who switched teams this offseason, but we’ll be keeping an extra-sharp eye on the ones whose free-agency signings or trades caused ripple effects across the league. We’ve got Paul George in Philadelphia, Klay Thompson in Dallas, Karl-Anthony Towns in New York and Julius Randle in Minnesota. And those are just the big names. There isn’t a ton you can gleam from preseason action, as the regulars are mostly going at half-speed to tune up for the real thing, but we’ll get our first look at how these guys fit into their new environment.
One game to circle is when the Knicks host the Timberwolves on Oct. 13. It’ll be the first time Towns and Randle face off against their former teams after a surprising blockbuster trade that sent the two All-Stars to different teams. It may only be a preseason game, but Randle will surely get a warm welcome as he returns to Madison Square Garden just a few weeks after being traded.
2. The rookies
This year’s rookie class may not be nearly as intriguing as last year’s, when we got Victor Wembanyama and our first glimpse of Chet Holmgren. But that doesn’t mean this incoming group won’t surprise us, and the preseason is a great place to start. Last June’s top two NBA Draft picks, Zaccharie Risacher and Alexandre Sarr, will get plenty of opportunity out of the gate for the Hawks and Wizards, respectively. However, all eyes may be tuned to Reed Sheppard, who was selected third overall by the Rockets and could make an immediate impact on a team that figures to take developmental strides. If Sheppard can carry over his sharpshooting from Kentucky and solid performance at the Las Vegas Summer League (20 points and five assists per game), he should have a significant role in Houston’s rotation.
Another prospect who could be successful on a winning team is 7-foot-4, 305-pound center Zach Edey. The former Purdue star landed on a Memphis squad in need of some frontcourt depth, and that first pick-and-roll between him an Ja Morant will surely make the rounds on social media.
3. LeBron and Bronny
Unless the Lakers make an impactful trade to put them in the championship conversation, the most intriguing thing about their season figures to be the father-son duo in purple and gold. We’ve already gotten our fair share of wholesome stories from Lakers training camp that could serve as a plot in a classic sitcom, and that should only multiply as more eyes tune in to the Lakers. Anthony Davis has already spoken about the level of competitiveness between LeBron and Bronny, and there’s also been some trash talking as the duo has guarded each other at times during practices.
Beyond all the stories, though, the preseason will give us a solid benchmark of how to measure Bronny’s talents and where he stands in the Lakers’ pecking order. He was a late second-round draft pick, which usually means he’ll spend most, if not all, of his time in the G League. But the Lakers drafted Bronny in part because of LeBron, so you can bet the four-time champion will have some say in his son’s journey through the NBA. Preseason will show us if Bronny does indeed need to go the G League route, if he’s good enough to be an end-of-the-bench guy, or maybe even an actual rotational player.
4. A Lonzo Ball comeback
It’s been two-and-a-half years since Lonzo Ball has played NBA basketball. During his absence he underwent three knee surgeries and, after setbacks in his recovery process along the way, he’s finally ready to get back on the court. Ball said at Bulls media day that he hopes he can be ready to play in Chicago’s regular-season opener, and Bulls president Arturas Karnisovas echoed that sentiment while also pushing the pause button a bit by saying they’ll have to see how Ball responds during training camp and preseason. So far, Ball’s gone through the first couple days of training camp with no limitations.
How that translates to game action will be important to keep an eye on. Ball already seems to accept that he won’t be as athletic as he was prior to the surgeries, but if he can return to even 85% of the player he was almost three years ago, he’ll be a valuable, defensive-minded guard the Bulls can bring off the bench. And in the off chance that Ball recovers all of his talents, including being a consistent 3-point threat, elite facilitator and lockdown defender, then Billy Donovan is going to have a difficult time keeping him out of the starting lineup.
5. The new-look Knicks
The Knicks are without a doubt the league’s most intriguing team entering the preseason thanks to two blockbuster trades that brought in Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. I wrote a couple weeks ago about how one of the biggest questions facing the Knicks entering the season was their lack of frontcourt depth after losing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency. That question was only magnified after it was announced that center Mitchell Robinson would be out until at least December or January as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. Well, the Knicks must have been reading my work because they addressed that need tenfold by trading Randle for Towns — giving them size up front in addition to an offensive piece that suits the team’s needs better than Randle did.
On paper, Towns should fit seamlessly into a Knicks offense that needs shooting and floor spacing. The two-man game with him and Jalen Brunson should be amongst the best in the league, and we’ll get our first taste of that pairing in the preseason. It’s not just the addition of Towns that makes the Knicks the most interesting team in the league. There’s also Bridges, whom the team acquired earlier in the offseason, giving them a premier 3-and-D wing who has experience fitting into whatever role you need him to fill. The Knicks addressed their weaknesses this summer, and when they open the preseason on Oct. 6, we’ll get to see the early returns of those moves.
