The 2025-26 NBA season is less than a week away. Several storylines surround the Philadelphia 76ers and the reigning champion New York Knicks, but a number of intriguing narratives exist across the league. Some could take all season to resolve, while others could be decided in the first quarter. Here are 10 important people at all levels of the game who bear watching, starting with a No. 1 pick who is still looking to make his playoff debut.
Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
Why he’s interesting: It’s now or never.
Williamson played 62 games last season, the second most of his career, trailing only the 70 he played in 2022-23. His stretch of playing 52 of 53 games from Dec. 14 to April 5 was the longest such span of his career. During that time, the Pelicans went 21-31 as they cycled through a litany of players while trying to develop rookies Jeremy Fears and Derik Queen.
This is Year 8 for the 2019 No. 1 pick. The league moves fast, and Williamson’s contract for 2027-28 is not guaranteed. Pelicans GM Troy Weaver previously went through the painstaking process of a Pistons rebuild at the start of the decade, but he doesn’t have the same situation in New Orleans, where the team has assets to accrue draft capital. The new regime resisted wholesale changes last season, and it hopes new coach Jamahl Mosley will have the same effect J.B. Bickerstaff had in Detroit three years ago before it makes any drastic moves.
Williamson has the most credentials but also the most questions. Reports indicate he has come into camp in great shape, after working extensively with assistant coach God Shammgod over the summer.
Doug Christie, Sacramento Kings
Why he’s interesting: The bar isn’t high.
There’s no mandate for the Kings to make the playoffs with the current roster, and the front office has stated it will not saddle itself with win-now moves that jeopardize the future. Zach LaVine is on an expiring deal, and it’s unclear how Domantas Sabonis, who has two years left on the extension he signed in 2023, fits into the long-term plan.
Christie has yet to put his imprint on this roster in terms of style of play, which is something Kings GM Scott Perry values highly. If Christie can put promising rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr. in positions to become an elite lead performer, it will be a feather in his cap as the roster takes shape. If the Kings deliver another nondescript 22-win season with no discernible on-court quality, things could get tricky for the well-liked Christie.
LaMelo Ball, Minnesota Timberwolves
Why he’s intriguing: The Timberwolves aren’t strangers to big moves. They acquired Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz for a cache of future picks and traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks two years ago, shortly after their first trip to the Western Conference finals in 20 years. Now Tim Connelly is remaking the roster, bringing in the uber-talented Ball to alleviate pressure on Anthony Edwards, who took on a heavy share of facilitating duties over the past couple of seasons.
Ball, who appears to be getting along famously with Edwards in the early returns, faces two tests. First and most importantly, he is facing high-stakes, high-pressure basketball for the first time in his NBA career. For his first six seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, the play-in tournament was the high-water mark. Second, can he stay healthy? He has played 70 games twice in his career, and he joins a team that wants to elevate itself to the tier of the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs in the West.
Micah Nori and Ja Morant, Portland Trail Blazers
Why they’re intriguing: This is the only player-coach combination on this list, and it is notable even if the two are not joined at the hip. Nori, the highly regarded assistant in Minnesota, took this job under less than desirable circumstances. Only the first year of his contract is guaranteed, with team options for the second and third years. National Basketball Coaches Association president J.B. Bickerstaff called the deal a “slap in the face.” Trail Blazers governor Tom Dundon has already caught flak for his cheap practices, and Nori appears to be in a lose-lose situation.
That’s where Morant comes in. It has been years since he was an All-Star, which he was in 2022 and 2023, let alone a future face of the league. The trade from the Memphis Grizzlies was a merciful end, but in Portland he shares the position with franchise legend Damian Lillard, who is returning from an Achilles injury. Jrue Holiday is also still there, along with Scoot Henderson. Where does Morant fit in, not just on this team but in the league at large?
His game hasn’t developed an outside shot, and injuries have limited him to just 79 games over the past three seasons. He is due $42.1 million and $44.8 million over the next two years and will be 29 when free agency arrives.
Is Portland fertile ground for a hard reset? Or are matters too complicated for either Nori or Morant to truly succeed?
Anthony Davis, Washington Wizards
Why he’s intriguing: It has been a while since Davis was an impact player. He has played a total of 71 games in the past two seasons, so he has something to prove. Davis has yet to play a game for the Wizards, and unlike Trae Young, he did not receive a contract extension. He is entering a potential contract year, holding a $62.7 million player option for 2027-28, in a place he didn’t choose, which makes his situation all the more interesting. He’s a veteran on a team with No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa, Young, who is a 20-point, 10-assist threat, and 2024 No. 2 pick Alex Sarr, who has shown considerable promise through two seasons.
The relationship between Davis and the Wizards appears to be going well, and he will want to put his best foot forward to secure his future as he turns 34 in March. If he stays healthy, Davis remains one of the more versatile bigs in the league and a future Hall of Famer. If he stays healthy and the Wizards and he cannot agree on an extension, he could become a coveted player on the market. Both sides understand it is a business. The question is how this plays out and how long it will take for clarity.
Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks
Why he’s intriguing: The reason is fairly obvious. Talks with the Knicks about an extension have hung over the organization since the team won its first title in 53 years. Those talks have been cut off after Towns found the Knicks’ offer of $200 million over four years unsatisfactory. That figure is $76 million less than his potential max of $276 million over four seasons, and it represents a pay cut from his current salary of $57 million. Like Davis, he holds a player option for next season at $61 million, a figure the second-apron-conscious Knicks must be aware of.
One of the reasons Minnesota traded Towns a couple of years ago was his salary and the team’s desire to get under the second apron in its first year. One wonders whether that weighs on his mind and heart as the Knicks go for a repeat. Is everything on the table if the Knicks are true to their word about not negotiating during the season?
The Knicks were one band, one sound during their run to the NBA Finals last season, and repeating is tougher than ever in today’s league. How will they manage it? And how will Towns, who sacrificed last season and is now being asked to sacrifice again, go beyond expectations?
Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland Cavaliers
Why he’s intriguing: Perhaps the criticism of his comments during the Eastern Conference finals has been overdone. Atkinson told the media that “analytically” the Cavaliers had won two of the three games against the Knicks, even though they were on the way to being swept. That remark obscured the best season and playoff run Cleveland has had in over 30 years that wasn’t headlined by LeBron James. Still, the Cavs looked emotionally and physically spent going into that series, so was that the maximum Atkinson could have gotten from his team? With the Eastern Conference looking improved from top to bottom, where do the Cavaliers fit in? Can Atkinson truly unlock Evan Mobley, a No. 1 talent who is the third option in this setup?
Donovan Mitchell re-signed for the max, and James Harden agreed to a three-year deal as he enters his age-37 season with a lot of mileage on his body and legs. The Cavaliers acquired Peyton Watson from the Denver Nuggets via a sign-and-trade deal. Is that enough to keep up? And can Atkinson shake off those comments and the perception surrounding them to keep the Cavaliers in the upper echelon?
Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
Why he’s intriguing: Irving is a wizard with the ball, a perfect shot-creating guard who barely needs a sliver of space to get a shot off with either hand and is unafraid to take big shots in big moments. But no one knows how his ACL surgery will affect his game, considering he hasn’t been on the floor in live action in 19 months.
Irving found ways to excel next to LeBron James in Cleveland, Kevin Durant in Brooklyn and Luka Doncic in Dallas, so he should have little trouble figuring out how to work with Cooper Flagg, who stands to take a big leap in Year 2. Dallas has new leadership, with Masai Ujiri as team president and first-year coach Dusty May. There have been no whispers about Irving’s current fit.
Irving will turn 35 in March. He holds a player option for 2027-28 at $42.4 million and could be a coveted veteran for several contenders if his path leads that way.
It has long been said he is comfortable in Dallas, and that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Some of his most productive and efficient play has come with the Mavericks, so it shouldn’t be assumed he will be on the way out. Either way, a return to the court for a spellbinding performer is noteworthy.
Jon Horst, Milwaukee Bucks
Why he’s intriguing: Travis Scott’s “Butterfly Effect,” Giannis Antetokounmpo’s song of choice after he scored at Fiserv Forum, will no longer be played there following his trade to the Miami Heat. But the butterfly effect of that move will continue to ripple.
Unless your name is Sam Presti, trading away your franchise star is usually signing your own pink slip rather than engineering the next phase of team building. Horst did a masterful job building the team that became an NBA champion in 2021, then used every creative lever he could to keep Antetokounmpo happy until the relationship ran its course.
The return for the franchise star and Bobby Portis was three first-round picks, Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel’el Ware. Lillard’s waive-and-stretch deal remains on the books through 2029-30 at $21 million per season.
There is also the matter of the league’s investigation into the signing of Gary Trent Jr., which is being examined for salary cap circumvention. If the LA Clippers case is any guide, and no one is comparing the actual severity of the two instances, the NBA will take this very seriously.
Will Horst still have the chance to rebuild the Bucks into another contender?
Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors
Why he’s intriguing: The yearlong investigation surrounding Leonard’s receipt of impermissible benefits from the Clippers is over. He was not suspended but was forced to repay $700,000 in restitution. He was then traded back to his preferred destination of Toronto, where he helped the Raptors win their only NBA title in 2019.
He would probably prefer that nobody ask about his Clippers experience, and the Raptors don’t seem to care what happened in the past seven years. They handed him a lucrative three-year extension upon his arrival, hoping history will repeat itself.
The Raptors were a first-round exit last year but have talented players, even after trading Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick to the Clippers. Leonard, if healthy, can make it all fit in a crowded Eastern Conference. But can he be trusted to stay on the floor?
Last year was one of his best, even amid the controversy, as he averaged nearly 28 points on ridiculous 50-39-89 shooting splits. But he is 35, and there is all that physical baggage.
“I want to love Kawhi because he’s an incredible talent,” a high-ranking Western Conference executive said. “However, he doesn’t abide by the rules of the game, which is to be available. If he played 70 games, he’s a top-three player. I’d take my chances with him.”