Camille Naredo

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates with the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy after defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 22, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Justin Ford, Getty Images/AFP/File

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JUNE 22: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates with the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy after defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 22, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.   Justin Ford/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Justin Ford / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

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2025 NBA Finals - Game Seven

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1760859094950AFP__20250623__063_2221582941__v3__HighRes__2025NbaFinalsGameSeven.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates with the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy after defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 22, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Justin Ford, Getty Images/AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates with the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy after defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 22, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. <em>Justin Ford, Getty Images/AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>WASHINGTON -- Superstar players on new teams and All-Stars sidelined by severe injuries have jumbled expectations, but Oklahoma City remains a championship favorite when the NBA&#x27;s 80th season begins Tuesday.</p><p>The Thunder will raise a championship banner on Tuesday when Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets visit while the Los Angeles Lakers entertain the Golden State Warriors in the other opening-night clash.</p><p>&quot;It would suck to lose the NBA championship in 2026,&quot; Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters. &quot;That&#x27;s the new focus. That&#x27;s the new goal.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/6/23/thunder-seal-nba-crown-with-game-7-win-over-pacers-1049">READ: Thunder seal NBA crown with Game 7 win over Pacers</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/6/23/a-great-start-nba-crown-just-the-beginning-for-shai-1603">READ: NBA crown just the beginning for Shai</a></div><p>The 27-year-old Canadian guard was last season&#x27;s NBA Most Valuable Player, NBA Finals MVP and league scoring leader with 32.7 points a game. The three-time NBA All-Star added 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocked shot a game.</p><p>A survey of NBA team general managers had 80% predicting Oklahoma City would repeat as NBA champion with Cleveland and Denver sharing a distant second on 7%.</p><p>The executives survey had Denver and Houston as the best of the rest in the Western Conference with Cleveland and New York atop the East.</p><p>Denver center Nikola Jokic, a three-time NBA MVP from Serbia who sparked the Nuggets to the 2023 crown, has his club in contention once again.</p><p>Durant, a two-time NBA champion and 2014 NBA MVP who is a 15-time All-Star forward, was traded from Phoenix to Houston in July. He joins Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet and Dorian Finney-Smith in making the Rockets a threat.</p><p>Bradley Beal joined the Los Angeles Clippers while Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton landed with the Lakers.</p><p>It&#x27;s the first full season for Luka Doncic with the Lakers while four-time NBA MVP LeBron James, sidelined by injury to start of the Lakers&#x27; campaign, prepares at age 40 for a record 23rd season.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/10/19/doncic-anchors-lakers-nba-title-bid-in-james-s-possible-last-stand-1217">READ: Doncic anchors Lakers&#x27; NBA title bid in James&#x27;s possible last stand</a></div><p>&quot;I don&#x27;t know when the end is, but I know it&#x27;s a lot sooner than later,&quot; James said.</p><p>Better off-season conditioning for Doncic has the Slovenian ready to spark the Lakers.</p><p>&quot;I would just say way less tired, probably a little quicker because of that,&quot; Doncic said.</p><p>Ayton had 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds last season in Portland but the Bahamian seven-footer (2.13m) is ready for more in LA.</p><p>&quot;This is the biggest opportunity of my career,&quot; Ayton said.</p><p>The San Antonio Spurs assembled veteran talent around French playmaker Victor Wembanyama while Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler try to lift Golden State back into the playoffs.</p><p>In the East, NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and six-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell are joined on the Cleveland Cavaliers by Lonzo Ball, who missed two of his past three seasons in Chicago with a knee injury.</p><p>&quot;He&#x27;s a guy that sees the floor naturally,&quot; Mitchell said of Ball. &quot;He has always been a pesky defender, but his knowledge, his I.Q., his mental part of the game I think will help us a lot.&quot;</p><p>Mobley looks for improvement after helping the Cavs capture the East last year with a 64-win season.</p><p>&quot;Every year I&#x27;ve been making leaps and leaps, and the past few years has been bigger leaps and this year I&#x27;m planning to do the same thing,&quot; Mobley said.</p><p>&quot;In the offseason, I just go hard and try to prepare myself to make that big leap and I know what I&#x27;m giving and know how good I feel.&quot;</p><p>The New York Knicks remain a threat under new coach Mike Brown while Orlando is improved after obtaining guard Desmond Bane from Memphis.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Torn tendons abound -</strong></div><p>Torn Achilles tendons have sent several stars out for all or most of the upcoming campaign.</p><p>Damian Lillard returned to Portland from Milwaukee after suffering one. New Orleans guard Dejounte Murray is out with a torn right Achilles.</p><p>Indiana forward Tyrese Haliburton is out for the entire season with a torn right Achilles after sparking the Pacers to the 2025 NBA Finals.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/6/24/nba-tyrese-haliburton-undergoes-surgery-apologizes-to-pacers-fans-1229">READ: Tyrese Haliburton undergoes surgery, apologizes to Pacers fans</a></div><p>Boston forward Jayson Tatum is out with a ruptured right Achilles tendon and Celtics star Jaylen Brown suffered a left hamstring injury in a pre-season game.</p><p>With their teams undone, the Celtics moved Latvian center Kristaps Porzingis to Atlanta and Pacers center Myles Turner signed with Milwaukee.</p>

<p>Superstar players on new teams and All-Stars sidelined by severe injuries have jumbled expectations, but Oklahoma City remains a championship favorite when the NBA's 80th season begins Tuesday.</p>

Superstar players on new teams and All-Stars sidelined by severe injuries have jumbled expectations, but Oklahoma City remains a championship favorite when the NBA's 80th season begins Tuesday.

NBA teams ring changes but Thunder still fancied to repeat

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NBA teams ring changes but Thunder still fancied to repeat

Jim Slater,

Agence France-Presse

Published Oct 20, 2025 08:00 AM PHT

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