What to Expect from the 2026 NBA Season

With this new season of the NBA now in full swing, new contenders have risen and early favorites have fallen. With what we saw last season with the Oklahoma City Thunder being a dominant team and taking the championship in that fashion, you might expect to see a dominant squad arise. 

Let's take a look at three teams to watch this winter:

The Champs: OKC Thunder

The Thunder were one of the dominant teams last season. They ended that year with a record of 68-14, the best in the sport. Their starting five of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Hartenstein are all dominant when they go to any arena. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could even be considered the best player in the league right now, so he is a person that people need to beware of.

The Hopefuls: Minnesota Timberwolves

The T-Wolves rocked the NBA world in round one of the 2025 playoffs by destroying the Los Angeles Lakers 5-1, and by making a push to the Western Conference Finals. However, they lost that series to the eventual champion, Oklahoma City. Their rockstar, Anthony Edwards, seemed to have the best year of his career last season and is looking to improve. Edwards has already upped his 3-pointer game this year and is still aiming to achieve his goal of being the next greatest player. This young team, with an average player age of 26.1 years old, is still seeking its first title ever.

The Underdogs: Houston Rockets

Houston has had a rough few years, specifically considering their 22-60 record in 2022-2023. However, they are showing improvement. Houston has one of the best league centers in Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, one of the better shooting guards in the West. But most importantly, they gained Kevin Durant—historically one of the best players of the 2010’s and early 2020's—in the offseason. KD will be a huge help to this program and could bring it back to conference contention. But, they will have to do it without Fred VanFleet. VanFleet was the main veteran of the team and an excellent floor presence in the point guard position, a hard player to replace. Good for the city of Houston though, they still have a great team that can set themselves up for success when the time is right this season.

This year of professional basketball is set up to be one of the most exciting in recent history, as plenty of teams have potential and skill to win this season. These teams aren’t the only ones in major contention, as I wouldn’t want to analyze all of the teams when you can just go see them for yourself. So, go grab some snacks and get ready to cheer on your favorite team (and yell at some refs), because you’re in for a real show.