Another up and coming season for NBA basketball is about to start. There has been a lot of news that occurred this off-season. The most shocking news is Kevin Durant joining the already elite Golden State Warriors. This makes this Warriors team deadly. They are projected to make more threes than last year and they were the first team to make 1,000 threes in NBA history. They also have the reigning MVP in Steph Curry and have the defending 3-point champion, Klay Thompson. The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming into this season trying to defend their title. They come in having the same exact team from last year which should help them. They are playing the up and coming New York Knicks. The Knicks added key pieces such as Derrick Rose who will look to return to MVP form. They also added Joakim Noah who will look to improve on a disappointing season last year.  

 “I think we finally got a shot this year to win the NBA championship. I feel like we have a complete team in the east and I’m hoping Derrick Rose will return to his MVP form,” said Steven Zhang who is a die hard Knicks fan  

 They also added key bench pieces such as Brandon Jennings and Courtney Lee. The Timberwolves come into the season as a dark horse team. The Timberwolves have future stars in Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins. They also have the freakishly athletic guard in Zach Lavine who has won back to back dunk contests. They also drafted Kris Dunn fifth overall in this year’s NBA draft who many people think he will win the Rookie of the Year award. Dwyane Wade will be in a new uniform for the first time in his whole entire career as he will be playing with the Chicago Bulls. Many people thought he wouldn’t leave the Heat because he was such a beloved icon in the city of Miami. This could be a make or break year for the Los Angeles Clippers as they are known for having a fantastic regular season and then choking in the postseason where it all matters. The 76ers are a team that is on the rise. They have lost a total of 199 games over the past three years. There are some bright spots for them, however, as they get number one overall pick, Ben Simmons, even though he is out with an injury for almost the whole season. They do get the former third overall pick in the 2014 draft, Joel Embiid back after he missed the past two seasons because of injury. He will look to be competitive.

The San Antonio Spurs added Pau Gasol this off-season who will replace Tim Duncan. The Spurs will look to see if Kawhi Leonard can win an MVP this season as he came in second in voting for the award last season. For the first time since 1996, an NBA roster will not have the names of Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett who all retired this past off-season. Paul Pierce said that he would retire at the end of this season with the Boston Celtics. This season will have a lot of star-studded teams and there will be many elite players in new uniforms come October 25th which will be opening night.