The Knicks defend their title as the Thunder and Spurs lead the chase
The New York team is trying to become the first in nine years to win back-to-back NBA titles
A new NBA season tips off this Tuesday, bringing with it the league’s galaxy of stars, from Jalen Brunson, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Dončić to veterans LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
The New York Knicks enter the season as defending champions, but they face fierce competition. The Knicks captured the long-awaited title in a historic season that ended a 53-year championship drought. With the Knicks’ victory, the NBA has now had eight different champions in eight consecutive years, something never before seen in the league’s 80-year history.
The Knicks will have to do what no team has managed in years: win back-to-back NBA titles. Standing in their way is a formidable group of contenders, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics and the storied Los Angeles Lakers. Loaded with talent and strengthened in the offseason, these hungry teams are all chasing the same prize: the 2026-27 NBA championship.
The season tips off on Tuesday with a marquee matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons (DAZN, 9 p.m. CET). Opening night will also feature several other intriguing contests, including a showdown between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, two of the leading contenders for the NBA title next June. And the revamped Philadelphia 76ers, led by LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, will take on the defending champion New York Knicks.
The Boston Celtics have traded away their biggest star, Jaylen Brown, to the Philadelphia 76ers to join LeBron James in what could be the penultimate chapter of his career. James’s arrival has thrust Philadelphia into the spotlight. The appeal of the 42-year-old superstar has opened up new possibilities for a franchise that has not reached the NBA Finals in 25 years.
Brown’s departure from Boston was painful, but ultimately necessary as the Celtics sought to rebalance a roster that had become top-heavy. The decision was not an easy one for the storied franchise, given that Brown was named Finals MVP in 2023-24, when the Celtics won the championship. In return, Boston acquired 36-year-old veteran Paul George, whose outside shooting is expected to help fill part of the void left by Brown’s exit.
Oklahoma City begins the season as the favorite
If there is one team that stands above the rest heading into the new season, it is the Oklahoma City Thunder. The team already won the championship in 2024-25 and boasts one of the deepest rosters in the NBA, a particularly valuable asset in today’s league. The Thunder have largely kept their core intact, securing contract extensions in recent months for franchise leader Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as well as Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
Despite losing some key players, the team coached by Mark Daigneault has added reinforcements, including Spanish center Aday Mara, the 2.21-meter giant who has impressed throughout the preseason. He is shaping up to be an important piece for the Thunder, who view the young Spaniard as a potential answer to Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs’ generational star.
The San Antonio Spurs came within touching distance of the title last season. They lost to the New York Knicks in five games despite an outstanding performance from the NBA’s most talked-about young star. Wembanyama remains as motivated as ever, with an insatiable appetite for winning. He is the kind of player who could define a generation.
The Spurs have stuck to their philosophy of internal development rather than pursuing blockbuster signings, continuing to invest in young talent with a long-term outlook. They already boast a talented trio of guards in De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. Their development will be crucial if Wembanyama, increasingly known as “The Alien,” is to win his first NBA title.
The Knicks, meanwhile, have retained the core that carried them to the championship, with Jalen Brunson remaining the undisputed leader. They will begin the season with an unusual decision: contract extension talks with three players who played key roles in the Finals, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and Miles McBride, have been put on hold while the organization assesses the team’s progress during the season.
Five Spaniards in the NBA
The new NBA season will also feature the strongest Spanish contingent in years. Five Spaniards are set to play in the league: alongside the established Santi Aldama (Dallas Mavericks) and Hugo González (Boston Celtics) are newcomers Sergio de Larrea, Baba Miller and the highly regarded Aday Mara.
The Spanish center, whose family roots are in the Canary Islands and Aragón, appears to have the best chance of winning a championship ring and emulating the achievement of the Gasol brothers. For Hugo González, the challenge will be different: establishing himself as an important player in Boston. To do so, he will need to improve his three-point shooting and find greater consistency. The Madrid-born forward is expected to see more playing time this season and have further opportunities to showcase his talent.
After five seasons in the NBA, Santi Aldama was traded this summer from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Dallas Mavericks, where he hopes to rediscover the trajectory that injuries interrupted and develop into a genuinely influential player. The Gran Canaria native will be joined by Sergio de Larrea, who arrives in the NBA after winning the ACB title with Valencia Basket. The 20-year-old point guard faces a demanding season in which he will have to fight for minutes.
The NBA’s challenge is to maintain intensity and entertainment across an 82-game regular season and the additional games required to reach the Finals, a schedule many argue has become excessively demanding on players.
Coaches are no longer competing simply to assemble the best starting five. They also need depth throughout the bench, allowing them to manage playing time and navigate such a gruelling campaign. This issue also affects the competitiveness of the league, which continues to grapple with tanking, the practice whereby rebuilding teams deliberately lose games to improve their position in the following year’s draft. The NBA has introduced a number of measures in an effort to discourage the strategy.
The coming season will also be a key one in the league’s battle against illegal gambling. The rapid growth of online betting platforms such as DraftKings, Polymarket and Kalshi has cast a shadow over the sport. In recent years, several cases involving players and illicit betting activity have come to light. In response, the NBA has reached agreements with major sports betting operators to restrict certain types of wagers.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition
