His shooting rates might have been unsustainable, but the stat line might be more doable than you'd think. Back in 2022-23, he gave the Houston Rockets nightly contributions of 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 2.4 triples and 1.4 steals.

Prior to the tipoff of the 2025-26 NBA season on Tuesday night, it's time to delve into the nooks and crannies of the 30-course tasting menu that awaits us. Some dishes will look a lot better than they end up tasting -- and vice versa -- but so much of the joy of sports fandom comes from being surprised,

The Indiana Pacers are unlikely to be able to ride the high of an NBA Finals appearance. Will they make the NBA playoffs in 2026?

Denver added Cam Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Jonas Valanciunas, so the Nuggets improved. Jokic is the favorite at DraftKings to start the year, but second in terms of odds behind SGA at other bookmakers. There is a strong case for Jokic to win his fourth MVP.

NBA top 30 player rankings 2025-26: Victor Wembanyama's climb, LeBron James falls out of top 10 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

If I asked you to name the top five defenses in the NBA after the All-Star break last season, you'd probably guess the Warriors, Magic and Thunder pretty quickly. The other two? The lottery-bound Raptors and Trail Blazers.