Eight pressing NBA questions for 2026-27 season: Will Knicks repeat? Can 76ers finally break through?

After an offseason filled with drama, we're suddenly less than two weeks out from the NBA regular season tipping off. A lot has changed since the Knicks topped the Spurs in five games to win their first championship since 1973. LeBron James plays for the 76ers. Jaylen Brown does, too. Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Heat. Kawhi Leonard was traded back to the Raptors, but only after an NBA investigation into the Clippers circumventing the salary cap concluded, leaving Leonard largely unscathed.

But all of that is in the past and now it's time to turn the page toward the action on the court. With the start of a new campaign nearly upon us, here are some pressing questions we're considering ahead of the NBA's return.

1. Can the Knicks repeat?

The Knicks entered last postseason as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, then went on an epic postseason run that included just three losses overall (remarkably, two of those came courtesy of the Hawks in the first round) en route to New York's first championship in 53 years. That historic performance featured several astounding come-from-behind victories, most notably their recovery from a 29-point deficit in Game 4 of the NBA Finals to shock the Spurs and everyone else.

Given the degree of difficulty, it's hard to dispute that the Knicks were a team of destiny. But as challenging as it was for Jalen Brunson and his running mates to win the title, it figures to be even more difficult to repeat. The Knicks boast one of the best starting fives in the NBA and return the entire unit from their championship run. The currently contentious contract negotiations with Karl-Anthony Towns probably aren't helpful when it comes to morale and continuity, though. That will be something to monitor, especially with Towns openly offering that the chances of getting an extension done before the season begins "don't look good."

That aside, the Knicks rightly enter the season as the betting favorites in the East -- but only slightly (+370 at FanDuel). The 76ers (+420) and Celtics (+500) aren't that far off, according to the oddsmakers, and the Raptors (+850) loom. Beyond that, the Thunder (+240) and Spurs (+280) both have considerably better odds to win it all (the Knicks are +1000). That's not so much a shot at the Knicks as it is a nod to recent history. The NBA has featured a new champ in each of the last eight seasons. We haven't seen a team go back-to-back since the Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

The Knicks' title run was legendary. Keeping the Larry O'Brien Trophy in New York would be even more historic.

2. Can LeBron James alter the 76ers' fortunes?

There's no questioning which team won the offseason. With apologies to the Heat securing the services of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Sixers stunned the NBA this summer -- twice. First new president of basketball operations Mike Gansey flipped Paul George and his onerous contract to the Celtics for Jaylen Brown as he came off a career-best season. Then the Sixers convinced LeBron James, arguably the greatest player of all-time, to play on a veteran minimum contract for a team that hasn't reached the conference finals since 2001.

About that last part: James is well aware of the team's spotty history. But if he's sweating it, he certainly hasn't let on. During media day, he told the assembled press, "I didn't leave my family to lose in the second round."

The confidence is admirable, and if anyone can transform the Sixers into Not the Sixers, it's James. He'll be 42 this season and if he fails, no one will hold it against him. But the whole thing does have a certain unstoppable-force-meets-immovable-object feeling to it. Either James does the seemingly impossible and helps the Sixers go on a deep playoff run for the first time in a quarter century, or the Sixers put an unceremonious end to an otherwise singular career.

3. What do Steph Curry and the Warriors have left?

Like several other teams, the Warriors took their best shot at landing LeBron only to miss out. That immediately invited speculation about whether Curry might ask out and go looking for a better opportunity to win a championship. Instead, Curry insisted he wants to be a Golden State lifer -- then put his money where his mouth is, signing a two-year, $115 million extension to stay with the Warriors. That's less than the max Curry could have commanded, something he said was designed to offer the franchise more flexibility as the Warriors try to work out how to improve the roster and turn into contenders.

It won't be easy. Curry is the best shooter of all time, but he played just 43 games last season -- the fewest he's managed in the last seven years -- and he'll turn 39 in March. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody won't be ready to start the season due to injuries and it's unclear when they'll be available. Kristaps Porzingis was limited to only 32 games last season. And when training camp opened, Porzingis was listed as out indefinitely with a health issue. Al Horford is 40. Draymond Green will turn 37 in March.

That's a lot for the Warriors. The oddsmakers have them once again fighting for a play-in position rather than the playoffs proper. No one tell Steph how grim it's gotten.

4. Will the Jalen Duren-Pistons unpleasantness linger?

Duren waited until the last possible moment prior to the qualifying offer deadline on Oct. 1 before signing his new five-year deal with the Pistons worth $200 million. That offer was on the table for a while and Duren just let it sit there, reportedly displeased that he made All-NBA and was eligible for up to $287 million as a result and didn't get anything close to it (and received $8 million less than Amen Thompson's new contract in Houston, despite Thompson not having All-NBA honors to his credit).

Duren had the best regular season of his career, only to disappear in the postseason and get outplayed in nearly every game against the Magic and Cavaliers. His points per game plummeted in the playoffs, and when Cade Cunningham desperately needed someone, anyone, to pitch in and help shoulder the load, Duren was nowhere to be found.

But he's only 22 years old, and the Pistons are betting big that he'll play more like last year's regular-season Duren than the no-show playoff version. But after threatening to sign the qualifying offer and become a free agent next summer and the rumors about him wanting to jump to the Kings of all places (and the Bucks having potential interest), even if Duren plays as well or better than he ever has, what sort of damage was done to the relationship by the whole distasteful process and can both sides fully put it behind them? For his part, Duren is saying all the right things about wanting to be in Detroit, complete with the requisite pandering to the fanbase.

"I am a Detroit Piston, I want to be a Detroit Piston for life," Duren said, notably with president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon at his side. "I want to give everything I've got for this city and the fans. From me to y'all, y'all will have everything I have. Y'all will get everything I can give."

5. How quickly can Giannis and the Heat compete?

After a protracted and messy divorce in Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo is starting over in Miami. Once again, Pat Riley got his man. But as Riley himself hinted at Antetokounmpo's introductory press conference, the Heat were looking to add another big name this summer and convince LeBron to return to South Beach. No dice on that one.

The Heat are in a better position than they have been the last few seasons, but they still need Antetokounmpo to do exactly what he said and leave his mark if they have any shot in the East. According to the oddsmakers, that's not so simple. The Heat (+1100 at FanDuel) are listed behind the Knicks (+370), Sixers (+420), Celtics (+500), Raptors (+850), Cavs (+850) and Pistons (+1000) to win the conference.

That will no doubt annoy Heat fans who are convinced that simply adding Antetokounmpo immediately makes Miami one of the East frontrunners. That same bunch also got worked up when I speculated that adding 36-year-old Klay Thompson off the Mavericks' discard pile was fine but probably didn't transform them into contenders.

Antetokounmpo has nine All-NBA and 10 All-Star teams on his resume, along with two MVPs, an NBA championship and a smattering of All-Defensive nods. He's unquestionably one of the best players of his era. He'll also turn 32 this season and has flirted with enough calf injuries to raise medical red flags.

Antetokounmpo played just 36 games last season (not all of that was health-related; some of it was owed to the Bucks embracing a late-season tank and the reality that they should finally trade Giannis). But even if we dismiss that as an aberration, Antetokounmpo has played north of 67 games just once in the last seven seasons. Despite availability issues, he's finished in the top five in the MVP voting in seven of the last eight seasons.

The Heat will need Antetokounmpo to regain that top-tier form and carry a team that gets pretty thin, pretty fast after its starters, and has shooting and spacing concerns. And even if Antetokounmpo is still capable of shouldering that kind of weight, can he lift them into the playoffs proper, or are the Heat looking at yet another play-in scenario?

6. Can Kawhi Leonard actually make everyone move on?

When he finally addressed reporters as a member of the Raptors, it was no surprise that Kawhi Leonard did not want to talk about what transpired in Los Angeles regarding the league's salary cap circumvention investigation. The Clippers were ultimately left holding that unwelcome bag to the tune of a $30 million fine, the forfeiture of five first-round draft picks and the mothballing of their key leadership, including owner Steve Ballmer (suspended for a year from team and league activities), president of business operations Gillian Zucker (suspended without pay for one year), and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank (suspended without pay for six months). Meanwhile, Leonard was hit with a nominal $700,000 fine and then shipped off in a trade to Toronto, where he politely declined to answer questions about any of it.

We'll see whether the media or fans grant his wish and memory hole his involvement in the cap circumvention/no-show endorsement deal scandal, but the best way to distract everyone from his (allegedly) shady off-court shenanigans is to play excellent basketball. Leonard is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, even if that didn't translate to wins and losses for the Clippers, who never made it out of the play-in.

Two-way talent has never been a question for Leonard. Availability is another matter. A litany of injury issues has limited him for a while now. The last time he played more than 68 games was a decade ago as a member of the Spurs. Since then, he's played fewer than 57 games in six of the last 10 seasons, including missing the entire 2021-22 campaign with an ACL injury.

The Raptors are betting that Leonard -- who recently signed a two-year extension with a player option for $115 million that would conceivably take him through his age 37 season -- will team up with Scottie Barnes to form one of the most fearsome wing duos in the league and transform Toronto into the championship contenders they haven't been since Leonard decamped for LA. If he can pull that off, that would be one hell of a distraction.

7. What will the injured big-name guards look like?

Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton both missed all of last season with Achilles injuries, while Kyrie Irving sat out the proceedings with a torn ACL. All of them have enjoyed considerable success over the course of their careers, but can they return to elite status?

Lillard's side-quest in Milwaukee didn't go the way he or the Bucks hoped. In two seasons, the Bucks never made it out of the first round. Now he is back in Portland, where the Blazers and their fans are happy to welcome him home. But apart from fully recovering from the Achilles, there are other obstacles in his way. In Lillard's absence, the Blazers became Deni Avdija's team. It's not hard to imagine the two fitting together nicely. But how might Lillard's presence affect newly-acquired high-usage guard Ja Morant, or vice versa? Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe (expected to miss six months with a torn meniscus) are also still on the team. That's a bit of a roster traffic jam for Lillard and the Blazers to navigate.

When last we saw Haliburton, he was in the midst of one of the truly great individual postseason performances in recent memory. Haliburton's heroics led the Pacers to within one game of hosting a championship parade -- only for Indiana to fall short when he suffered the Achilles injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Thunder.

The Pacers are betting he returns to form, and they got him a welcome-back gift in the form of new center Ivica Zubac, whom they acquired from the Clippers at the trade deadline. Which version of Haliburton that Indiana gets this season will go a long way toward determining if the Pacers regain their spot among the Eastern Conference contenders.

Irving's injury wasn't as severe as Lillard's and Haliburton's, but like his peers, he also sat out the entire season. Once the Mavericks decided to offload Anthony Davis to the Wizards and give Cooper Flagg the keys to the franchise, it made sense for Dallas to jockey for lottery balls and keep Irving on the shelf. Now he's back and ready to help a Mavericks backcourt that was seriously understaffed last season.

Irving is one of the most dangerous guards in the league when healthy, but if he plays up to his usual standards, will that be enough to sneak the Mavericks into a play-in spot? Or might Dallas thank him for his services and move him along to a team ready to compete sooner than later?

8. Who will win Rookie of the Year?

It's as crowded and talented a field as we've seen in a long time. AJ Dybantsa went first overall, but will the Wizards -- who have expressed their willingness to compete this season in various ways, including giving Trae Young a fat new contract and refusing to trade Anthony Davis -- give him enough runway to stack up the counting stats usually required to win the award?

Second overall pick Darryn Peterson has drawn comparisons to Kobe Bryant, but like Dybantsa, he finds himself on a Jazz team that wants to win now. Where will Peterson fall in the pecking order on a squad with Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Keyonte George?

Cameron Boozer, who went third to the Grizzlies, and Caleb Wilson, who went fourth to the Bulls, seem to be in spots better suited to put up big individual numbers. Boozer will almost immediately become the main man in Memphis, while Wilson dazzled at summer league and already has Bulls fans crowing in Chicago.

Beyond that, Darius Acuff Jr. (Kings), Yaxel Lendeborg (Warriors), Mikel Brown Jr. (Nets), Keaton Wagler (Clippers) and Brayden Burries (Bucks) all landed with teams that should present them with opportunities to showcase their stuff.

Put them all together, and it looks like we're headed for a hyper-competitive and wide-open race.