Five Biggest Storylines to Watch in the 2025 NBA Preseason

The NBA preseason started earlier than usual for the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers this fall.

As with Nermal, Garfield’s perky foil, they shipped off to Abu Dhabi for a pair of exhibition games beginning Thursday.

One day later – well, morning, in the U.S. – the New Orleans Pelicans will become the first NBAers to play in Australia when their preseason slate begins against Melbourne United.

The Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns will play preseason games abroad, too.

Plenty of action also awaits stateside before the regular season tips off on Oct. 22, though.

Let’s look at 5 things to watch this preseason.

Is this LeBron’s swan song?

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James seemingly averted questions about riding into the sunset last preseason because training camp was a series of “Take Your Son to Work” days. Now, his most notable teammate is Luka Doncic, who joined LA for the stretch run last season before the team lost to Minnesota in five games in the first round of the playoffs. The Lakers and the rest of the Western Conference face a tougher road in 2025-26. The Lakers need to develop their supporting cast behind their two headliners, starting with the health of presumed post presence DeAndre Ayton. It also would be smart to carve out some contingencies should James, who turns 41 in December, request a trade if things aren’t going well.

What can the Thunder do for an encore?

Yes, the West projects to be more daunting this season, but the Oklahoma City Thunder still sit on top of it and the NBA. The reigning champions boast a youthful and talented core led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, each of whom are 27 or younger. How will the Thunder fare, though, with targets on their backs? The principals have talked a good game about maintaining their mindset, but the hypotheticals vanish once the ball goes in the air.

What can Brown do for the Knicks?

Heading overseas offers an opportunity for teams to bond, a proposition that could especially suit the Knicks as they begin working under veteran coach Mike Brown. 

Even with Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Co. surging in recent seasons, ownership felt Thom Thibodeau wasn’t the right bench boss to take New York to the top – or at least to the NBA Finals for the first time in a quarter century. Brown hasn’t guided a team to the Finals in nearly two decades, but nothing has changed about the microscope in the Big Apple.

How is Joel Embiid’s health?

Whether they’re running the floor in the United Arab Emirates or the first capital of the United States, the Sixers go as center Joel Embiid does. Lately, that frustratingly has not been very far. Philly won just 24 games a season ago, snapping a string of seven straight trips to the playoffs, although none of those lasted longer than the East semifinals. Injuries limited Embiid to just 19 games in 2024-25, about half as many as he logged the previous season.

How will Mr. Cooper hang?

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd knows what it’s like to be a high-profile ballhandler, so he sought to accelerate top pick Cooper Flagg’s development during summer league. 

The Lakers famously double-teamed Flagg on the first possession of his first game, and opponents’ attention won't figure to stray going forward. As regular-season tests await, can Flagg prove himself to be a consistent scorer and defender?