Excitement looms as the National Basketball Association commences its season on Oct. 21, with a slate of marquee games.

On opening night, the NBA will televise the tantalizing matchups between the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who won the title 120 days ago, against the rebuilt Houston Rockets featuring the addition of all-time great scorer Kevin Durant. The game tips off at 7:30 pm ET.

Major matchups

In the nightcap, fans were looking forward to the renwed rivalry between transcendent players LeBron James as the Los Angeles Lakers square off against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. However, James is recuperating from a debilitating sciatic nerve issue that the team said will keep him sidelined until Halloween.

Fans are also excited to see the Dallas Mavericks unveil their new toy, former college superstar Cooper Flagg who took the sport by storm in his season with the Duke Blue Devils.

Major injuries

Some of the exhilaration and enthusiasm for the start of the season has been tempered by major injuries incurred by some of its biggest stars. Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics suffered season-ending tears of their Achilles in the playoffs earlier this year and are expected to miss the entire upcoming season. Also, box office star Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks tore his ACL in the spring of 2025. There is no timetable for Irving’s return to the court, if at all, in 2026.

Below are the predictions of who could be in the Eastern and Western Conference championships next spring, according to the sports reporters at USA Today. All analysts picked the New York Knicks, while only one person picked LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to make it that far in the playoffs.

Conference championship predictions

Eastern Conference Finals prediction:

• Lorenzo Reyes: New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons
• Scooby Axson: New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
• Mark Giannotto: New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
• Jon Hoefling: New York Knicks vs. Orlando Magic
• James Williams: New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Western Conference Finals prediction:

• Reyes: Denver Nuggets vs. San Antonio Spurs
• Axson: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors
• Giannotto: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers
• Hoefling: Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors
• Williams: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Denver Nuggets

From this list, the aforementioned reporters state their choice of who will be in the NBA Finals:

• Reyes: New York Knicks vs. Denver Nuggets
• Axson: New York Knicks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
• Giannotto: New York Knicks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
• Hoefling: New York Knicks vs. Denver Nuggets
• Williams: New York Knicks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Finals winner prediction:

• Reyes: Denver Nuggets
• Axson: Oklahoma City Thunder
• Giannotto: New York Knicks
• Hoefling: Denver Nuggets
• Williams: Oklahoma City Thunder

The reporters were split on Nikola “The Joker” Jokic and reigning MVP winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the winner of this year’s MVP.

NFL power rankings according to insiders

As the NBA kicks off, the National Football League is nearing its halfway point of the season. NFL.com provided fans with their power rankings after eight weeks.

1. Detroit Lions: The marauders of Motown mauled a good Tampa Bucs team 24-9 under a stifling defense and is seen as the best team, offensively and defensively, in the NFL right now.
2. Indianapolis Colts: They are soaring with the revived career of castaway quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Jonathan Taylor.
3. Kansas City Chiefs: The reporter said he would have placed the Chiefs higher, but they dragged an Oakland Raiders team, 31-0, that is hapless and listless. But they seemed to have regained the form that got them to the Super Bowl in February.
4. Seattle Seahawks: The Hawks are impressive at 5-2 behind another resurgent quarterback Sam Darnell, and a suffocating defense.
5. Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love has emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in the league as he replaced the legend, Aaron Rodgers, whom he’ll face this Sunday in Pittsburgh.
6. Philadelphia Eagles: Seemed to have resuscitated their moribund offense as QB Jalen Hurts finally had a break-out game on Sunday, throwing for more than 300 yards, while A.J. Brown and Devonte Smith each had more than 150 yards receiving in a 28-20 against Minnesota.
7. Los Angeles Rams: “Senior citizen” Matthew Stafford, 38, is killing the competition behind 17 TD passes against only 2 interceptions in eight weeks of play.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs suffered a setback this past Sunday, but quarterback Baker Mayfield is still an MVP candidate and he will soon get back wide receivers Mike Evans and super rookie Emeka Egbuka, both of whom went down wth hamstring injuries.
9. Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen is not playing like the MVP he was last season and their defense is atrocious. But when they put it all together, they are unstoppable.
10. Denver Broncos: Bo Nix is another young quarterback who is proving to be exceptional despite his lack of experience. He authored an NFL record 33 points in the 4th quarter (when a team is shut out for the first three quarters) in a 33-32 nailbiting win over the Giants.