The NBA season is just hours away from getting started, with the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons slated to kick things off in the Motor City. The NBA is looking to build on the success of last year, when the playoffs drew enormous ratings as the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

Ahead of the new season, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stopped by ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show to give his outlook on the upcoming year.

“I can't remember a season that was so anticipated in terms of the level of competition across the league.. The East is loaded and we've got some great teams in the West,” he said, per Pat McAfee on X, formerly Twitter.

Silver also spoke on the NBA Cup, which has drawn mixed reviews from fans over its first three years.

“The players love the competition and the fans have responded well to it,” he said.

Silver had seen his public reception tank over the last couple of seasons due to factors like the NBA's increasing partnerships with gambling companies, as well as criticisms about the league's response to the tanking epidemic.

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However, he did win back some good grace with his harsh punishment of the Los Angeles Clippers for circumnavigating the salary cap in their signing of Kawhi Leonard, although some fans wanted more discipline for Leonard himself.

Last year, the NBA Cup added a bit of legitimacy to itself when the team that won the Cup, the New York Knicks, also ended up winning the NBA title several months later.

In any case, tipoff between the Celtics and Pistons is slated for Tuesday at 3:00 pm ET from Detroit.