Knicks open title defense against LeBron's 76ers on Tuesday, 20 October

Title defense starts on Tuesday, 20 October

The 81st NBA season tips off on Tuesday, 20 October, with a tripleheader that sends LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers to New York to face the Knicks. The champions will receive their championship rings before that game. The Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the Finals, and the trophy was lifted on 13 June, ending a 53-year title drought in New York. Jalen Brunson was named Finals MVP. The Knicks are the eighth different champion in the last eight seasons, and no team has repeated as champion since Golden State won in 2017 and 2018.

Favorites and an Eastern Conference shake-up

AP lists the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder as the favorites, not the Knicks. Victor Wembanyama, who is 22 and entering his third NBA season, leads a Spurs team that last won the title in 2014, according to El Mundo. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, described by El Periódico as the winner of the last two MVP awards, leads the Thunder, who won the title in 2024. In the East, Kawhi Leonard returned to Toronto, Giannis Antetokounmpo moved to Miami, and James and Jaylen Brown joined Philadelphia. Boston will pair Paul George with Jayson Tatum after Brown's departure, while Indiana gets Tyrese Haliburton back for the first time since losing Game 7 of the 2025 Finals. Detroit and Cleveland kept their rosters largely intact, as did the Knicks, who kept Mike Brown's core with Mitchell Robinson as the only significant loss.

Opening night fixtures

The first game is the Boston Celtics against the Detroit Pistons at 21:00 Spanish time on Tuesday, 20 October, and Hugo González opens the season for Boston. Oklahoma City against San Antonio is also on the opening night, and so is the Knicks game against Philadelphia. Dallas opens its season in Houston on Wednesday, 21 October.

Jaylen Brown's move to Philadelphia is expected to increase González's role in the Celtics system, and the Boston front office has called him a fundamental part of the team's future.

Spanish players in the league

Five Spanish players will be in the league this season: Hugo González (Celtics), Santi Aldama and Sergio de Larrea (Mavericks), Aday Mara (Thunder) and Baba Miller (Clippers). Mara, de Larrea and Miller join the group as newcomers, and it is the first Spanish group of this size since the 2022-23 season. González, 20, was drafted 28th in 2025 and scored 15, 17 and 21 points in three preseason games, hitting 11 of 20 three-point attempts. Aldama, who signed a deal worth about 17.5 million dollars a year, had right knee surgery on 17 March and has not played a preseason minute, so his role in Dallas is still open.

Competitive mindset

Brunson credited the title to the group's unity and dismissed outside noise as a distraction. He summed up the group's approach in a single line.

“The way we won was just because of how connected we were as a group. We've got to keep that.”

Haliburton set a similarly narrow goal for Indiana as it returns to contention. He said the team has no conversations beyond winning the title.

“To me, the year's successful if you win a championship. If not, it's not.”