On October 22, the NBA tips off its 79th basketball season with the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics being the two highly favored teams to win this year’s finals. 

Although the statistics favor Boston, many sports radio hosts and personalities are doubtful. Former NBA player, Kendrick Perkins said, “No one in the NBA is scared, right now, of the Boston Celtics.” Perkins also noted that the Knicks made a notable upgrade to their roster with Mikal Bridges, a budding star coming from the Brooklyn Nets. 

Another big trade came from the 76ers, who traded for nine-time all-star in Paul George. Both players bring diverse skill sets and positive mindsets to teams already set up for success, readying them to take it to the next level. 

Another contending team that made a nice pick-up this offseason was the Denver Nuggets, as they traded for Russell “Mr. Triple Double” Westbrook. Although he is in the latter half of his career, Westbrook is a seasoned veteran who brings more experience to the team. 

In a recent headline trade, the Minnesota Timberwolves made a massively impactful trade for the whole league. Long-time power forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Karl Anthony-Towns, was traded to the Knicks for Donte DiVincenzo and three-time all-star Julius Randle. Many see this trade as a lose-lose because Towns has been in Minnesota for his whole career, and the team continued building around him and super-star Anthony Edwards. To most, this seems to be a reset button on a project that was headed in the right direction.

For the Knicks, all of their fans wanted DiVincenzo to stay as he won a national championship at Villanova with All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson, shooting guard Josh Hart, and forward Mikal Bridges. The popularity of reuniting all of the “Nova Boys” was highly anticipated throughout New York, making this trade a moral decline for many. 

Although he is not a player, the NBA lost one of its most beloved analysts and reporters, Adrian “Woj” Wojnarowski. For the past 38 years, Wojnarowski has been widely known as one of the best sports journalists ever as he always drops the big stories known as “Woj Bombs” as soon as they happen. 

Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach, Darvin Ham, was fired in early May and was later replaced by NBA analyst J.J. Redick. The former 11th pick of the 2006 draft played 15 seasons in the NBA and holds franchise single-season three-point field goal records for multiple teams. He worked for ESPN as an analyst for roughly three years and is starting his coaching career this season.

With all these big trades, retirements, and signees, this season is set to kickstart right out of the gate.