Oct 15, 2025, 07:00 AM ET
The NBA’s preseason is drawing to a close
The curtain will rise on the 2025-26 season in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, when the defending champion Thunder will celebrate their first title as they host former Thunder star Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets. And while much of the preseason is about rounding into shape and getting to the start of the season healthy, there are still things that can be gleaned from the early October action.
To take stock of where things sit after most of the exhibition slate has been played, our NBA reporters — Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Vince Goodwill, Baxter Holmes, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin, Anthony Slater, Michael C. Wright and Ohm Youngmisuk — provided their takeaways on several contenders from each conference, and what each franchise looks like heading into the upcoming season.
Jump to a team:
ATL | CLE | DAL
DET | GSW | HOU
LAC | LAL | MIL
NYK | OKC | ORL
PHI | SAS
play
1:20
Barkley: ‘I wish a person loved me as much as the Bucks love Giannis.’
Charles Barkley weighs in on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Bucks after Milwaukee had trade conversations with the Knicks earlier in the offseason.
Eastern Conference
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
One of the early observations made by players during the first days of Hawks camp was that everyone was on the court, and the trainer’s room was empty. The Hawks are healthy and buzzing over new additions Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard. Being healthy again is vital to the Hawks’ success and growth. A huge factor for Atlanta this season is Jalen Johnson, who looked good in his first two preseason games back from left shoulder surgery that ended his 2024-25 season; Johnson made 7 of 11 shots and had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 25 minutes against Memphis.
Coach Quin Snyder said Johnson’s improvement on defense will be the next step for the young forward. If he can stay healthy and continue to grow as a playmaker to help Young and Porzingis, the Hawks could really take off this season. — Youngmisuk
The Cavaliers have a lot of depth, and they will need it. Max Strus is likely out for a few months with a Jones fracture in his left foot. Darius Garland will miss the opening weeks of the season as well after offseason turf toe surgery. New addition Lonzo Ball is not going to play back-to-backs, and he played 35 games last season for the Chicago Bulls after missing the prior two seasons with injuries. De’Andre Hunter has never played more than 67 games and has missed at least 25 games in three of his six seasons. And Dean Wade has eclipsed 60 games in only one of his six seasons.
So while Cleveland feels good about where it sits after claiming the top seed in the East last season, it is already navigating injuries — and likely will be throughout this season. — Bontemps
Giving third-year forward Ausar Thompson more responsibility has come into focus. The team began to take off last season when his health restrictions (blood clot) were lifted and his two-way prowess was unleashed. Now, the Pistons view him as a secondary ball handler, initiating offense as a change-of-pace guard to contrast the more deliberate Cade Cunningham.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff noted how Thompson initiated some offense with Cunningham on the floor to present a different look. With Jaden Ivey (left fibula) still “dealing with some discomfort,” according to Bickerstaff, the team is bringing him along slowly, thus creating more opportunity for Thompson on offense. As for Cunningham, preseason is the smallest of sample sizes, but according to sources, “he’s proving last year wasn’t a fluke.” — Goodwill
play
0:50
Cooper Flagg shines in preseason debut for Mavs
The 18-year-old rookie scored 10 points and contributed 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a blocked shot in 14 minutes.
The Giannis saga is far from over. Despite attempts from the Bucks to quell speculation over Antetokounmpo’s future since the start of camp, the two-time MVP has simultaneously emphasized his current commitment to the Bucks while leaving the door open that he could continue his career elsewhere.
Antetokounmpo has doubled down on his desire to compete for championships with an unwillingness to accept anything less. It has put the pressure on the Bucks this season to prove he can win another championship in Milwaukee. For a team that has lost in the first round in three consecutive seasons, not advancing further in the playoffs could lead to a day of reckoning. — Collier
Off the floor, the Antetokounmpo situation will hang over the team all season following the revelation that the Knicks and Bucks discussed a potential trade of the power forward this offseason. Several key players will be on notice and have an eye on what’s going on with Milwaukee to track Antetokounmpo’s frame of mind. On the floor, the Knicks want to play faster on offense and shoot more 3s, but it has been a work in progress through four preseason games. The Knicks have a favorable schedule to start the season, which should provide an early window into how the Mike Brown era will look in New York. — Goodwill
The Magic are getting healthier, and that is a big deal. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner started camp healthy after both dealt with oblique injuries last season; they missed a combined total of 58 regular-season games. Orlando isn’t whole yet, though. Guard Jalen Suggs is still slowly making his way back from left knee surgery and Mo Wagner remains out with a torn left ACL sustained in December 2024.
In the meantime, Banchero, Wagner and the rest of the Magic will try to develop chemistry as quickly as possible with new addition Desmond Bane while hoping to drastically improve on their league-worst 31.8% 3-point shooting last season. The Magic have started out camp playing faster, focusing on getting out in transition and using defense to create offense. Through the first three preseason games, the Magic averaged 104 possessions. They averaged a league-low 96.5 last season. The most important thing will be going into the season with Banchero, Wagner and Bane healthy and hoping Suggs can add to the team once he is ready. — Youngmisuk
Joel Embiid might be healthy? That feels strange to say after everything that has happened over the past 18 months, but so far it has been a relatively stress-free preseason in Philadelphia. Embiid appears on track to be ready for the 76ers’ opener against the rival Celtics on Oct. 22. Anyone who has followed Embiid’s tenure in Philadelphia knows how quickly things can change, and he has had enough issues with his left knee that it’s fair to wonder how long it will last until another flareup.
Embiid said at the start of training camp they’re just taking things day-by-day. But unlike last year, when his preseason was a waiting game to see when his knee would be ready to go, Embiid has practiced regularly, participated in Sunday’s open scrimmage and is expected to play Friday against Minnesota in Philadelphia’s preseason finale. — Bontemps
play
1:27
LeBron’s injury puts his Warriors-Lakers opening night in jeopardy
Dave McMenamin confirms that LeBron James will be sidelined an additional three to four weeks because of sciatica.
Western Conference
The mantra of Dallas GM Nico Harrison is “defense wins championships,” but the Mavericks have some things to figure out on that end of the floor, particularly on the perimeter. Coach Jason Kidd said he has to “continue to look at different combinations to see what gives us the best way to start the game” after the Hornets scored 95 points through three quarters as the Mavs played their starters into the second half. Klay Thompson was tasked with being the primary defender on Charlotte star LaMelo Ball, which is probably asking too much of a 35-year-old with his injury history.
The options are limited if D’Angelo Russell starts alongside Thompson. P.J. Washington typically took the toughest perimeter defensive assignment last season, but he came off the bench in the first two preseason games. Would the Mavs be better off starting Washington with 18-year-old Cooper Flagg as the primary offensive initiator? That’s the look Kidd went with against the Utah Jazz on Monday, when Russell rested. — MacMahon
The headliners aren’t showing any alarming signs of age at the moment. Al Horford has fit the culture and system well so far. One of the leftover questions is how exactly Steve Kerr will deploy his starting lineup around Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. Horford will start at center on some nights, but Kerr said he wants to be careful considering Horford’s age and the need to limit his minutes.
“If Al were a little younger, he’d be in the starting lineup for sure,” Kerr said.
Kerr has hinted that he might employ a small-ball unit that includes Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski. But Moody hurt his left calf in practice and his status is uncertain to start the season. Podziemski punctuated a great camp with a 23-point night in Los Angeles against the Lakers. Kerr wouldn’t officially commit to him as the starting shooting guard, but the presumed lineup for opening night is Curry, Podziemski, Butler, Green, Horford — though it is anticipated Kerr will change it around often. — Slater
Houston’s offensive initiation by committee approach will work out just fine in the wake of veteran point guard Fred VanVleet’s season-ending injury. Rockets coach Ime Udoka often throws around the term “KYP” (know your personnel) in news conferences. Perhaps that intricate knowledge of Houston’s roster played a major role in Udoka’s confidence that his group “can get the job done” in VanVleet’s absence.
Early returns in the preseason have been promising with the Rockets utilizing multiple players — mainly center Alperen Sengun and forward Amen Thompson — to initiate offense. Expect Houston to also lean on Durant to facilitate the offense along with second-year guard Reed Sheppard, who appears to be growing more confident in his role. — Wright
Playing beneath the cloud of an NBA investigation — and one centered around a team’s star player — is no small thing. But it appears the Clippers, for now, are resolved to not let that inquiry serve as a distraction. Through two preseason games, Kawhi Leonard appears in midseason form. He scored 18 points in 18 minutes in one game and 17 points in 19 minutes in the other. New acquisitions Brook Lopez and John Collins have seemed to fit in already, and Chris Paul’s reunion with the Clippers feels seamless.
The Clippers boast one of the league’s oldest rosters, but it’s also among the deepest, which should help some of their more veteran players as the season moves along. There are a few preseason games left, not that those offer concrete evidence of the season to come, but despite the small sample size, the rebuilt Clippers appear especially promising. — Holmes
play
1:27
LeBron’s injury puts his Warriors-Lakers opening night in jeopardy
Dave McMenamin confirms that LeBron James will be sidelined an additional three to four weeks because of sciatica.
The extra time to practice and jell together that the team pined for after last season’s abrupt first-round exit was not to be. Unfortunately, training camp didn’t provide the opportunity everyone hoped for. LeBron James was limited to being a vocal participant in the Lakers’ scrimmages from the sidelines because of sciatica down his right side, which also kept him out of the preseason.
Luka Doncic was purposely held out of the majority of L.A.’s preseason slate and was given a modified workload for a handful of practice days, with the medical staff cognizant of his EuroBasket duty over the summer. Marcus Smart, signed in the offseason, was out with Achilles tendinopathy. Maxi Kleber, who was only healthy and available for one game after being acquired from Dallas in the Doncic trade in February, missed most of camp with a quad injury. Rookie Adou Thiero was also limited because of knee swelling.
“These are the cards we were dealt,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I surely would like everybody to be healthy.” — McMenamin
All-NBA wing Jalen Williams is unlikely to be ready for the start of the regular season as he continues to recover from surgery on his right wrist, an operation he had on July 1, after playing the entire postseason with torn ligaments.
“I would have cut my right hand off to win a championship,” Williams told ESPN.
He has only recently begun to shoot with his right hand again and has yet to be cleared for contact work. The Thunder and Williams have not publicly discussed a timetable for his return as they take a patient approach.
“Whenever I feel like I can be a hundred percent and do that whole thing, then I’ll rock out,” Williams said. — MacMahon
The Spurs will look different this season. Team president and former coach Gregg Popovich has always encouraged new coach Mitch Johnson to be himself. It’ll be apparent on the floor this season as Johnson incorporates more of his own principles in San Antonio during his first full season on the job. Victor Wembanyama made that point clear in describing how the staff put together “a more extended plan” over the summer that emphasizes “better recognition of our roles together.” Veteran Harrison Barnes pointed out, “We have a lot of new stuff that we’re doing,” adding, “We’ve changed some of the processes of how we’re doing [things]. That comes with Mitch implementing his style, which I think has been well-received by players.”
Expect the Spurs to flex their collective youth and athleticism to play a faster style. — Wright
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.