NAGPUR: The 2024-25 NBA season will tip off with NBA's defending champions Boston Celtics receiving their championship rings ahead of a high-stakes matchup with the New York Knicks, followed by a generational clash with 17-time Champions Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves on opening night.
The 2023-24 NBA champions Celtics have brought back every rotation player from their dominant 2023-24 team which produced the league’s best regular-season record, ranked first in the league in offensive rating and second in defensive rating, and won the franchise’s record 18th title.
Three-time All-NBA First Team selection Jayson Tatum and 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown are set to lead the franchise into potentially becoming the first team since the 2018 Golden State Warriors to successfully defend their NBA Championship, and the first Eastern Conference team since the 2018 Cleveland Cavaliers to make back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals.
The Knicks are coming off an Eastern Conference semifinal appearance behind first-time NBA All-Star Jalen Brunson. The team made massive changes over the offseason, acquiring four-time NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and guard-forward Mikal Bridges, who has averaged 19.9 points over the last two seasons.
The Knicks also signed defensive specialist OG Anunoby to a long-term contract extension after going 20-3 with him in the lineup during the regular season following his acquisition from the Toronto Raptors.
The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a first-round Playoff exit in 2023-24 but are set to have a red-letter year, particularly for LeBron James. The NBA’s all-time scoring leader and 20-time NBA All-Star
will play his record-tying 22nd season, which will be his first with son Bronny James as a teammate. They are the first father-son duo to be teammates in the NBA with the pair potentially sharing the court together against the Timberwolves in a historic moment.
Lakers forward-center Anthony Davis is coming off a season where he made his ninth NBA All-Star team. The roster will have a familiar look under new head coach JJ Redick as its top five scorers from last season are back: James, Davis, guards D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves and forward Rui Hachimura.
The Minnesota Timberwolves ranked as the NBA’s top defensive team in the regular season and made a run to the Western Conference Finals, their second appearance in franchise history. The Timberwolves have a new-look this season, acquiring three-time All-Star Julius Randle to play alongside four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid. The wing rotation features forward Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVicenzo.
All the live action from the 2024-25 season will be available in India with NBA League Pass.
