NBA 2026-27 season predictions: A Knicks repeat and LeBron’s villain arc

Our writers give their verdicts on the new season, which tips off Tuesday. Who will claim the title? And which youngster will make the superstar leap?

What I’m most looking forward to …

Seeing all the fruits borne of an incredible summer of player movement. It feels like three years ago that Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Heat, because since then, Jaylen Brown and LeBron James went to the 76ers, and a ton of other deck chairs were reshuffled. This is the most intriguing NBA opening week in eons. Claire de Lune

Washington and Utah clawing their way out of the doldrums. Both have been in perpetual poverty for almost half a decade. Both now surround young cores of switchy, two-way wings with playoff-tested veterans like Anthony Davis and Jaren Jackson Jr. Lee Escobedo

The NBA’s great chemistry experiment. After a summer in which Antetokounmpo landed in Miami and LeBron and Brown somehow wound up together in Philadelphia, the league feels like someone hit the reset button. Whether any of these hastily assembled superteams can actually function together is another question entirely. I’m particularly interested in how quickly the novelty wears off and the finger-pointing begins. Bryan Armen Graham

Can I be a homer and pick da Bulls? It appears they have their own generational Caleb – Caleb Wilson – to match the dynamic Bears quarterback, and the North Carolina prospect has looked like a draft steal since falling to fourth overall. Mix in the free-agent signing of Norman Powell (a veteran tough guy who expands his offensive range each year) and the addition of Tiago Splitter (a Gregg Popovich disciple who spurred Portland to a surprising playoff campaign last year), and these young Bulls sure look ready to run again. Andrew Lawrence