(Reuters) -Five storylines to follow during the 2025-26 National Basketball Association season, which tips off on Tuesday.
LEBRON WATCH
For the first time in his career, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James will miss his team’s opening night match-up due to sciatica on his right side that could keep the NBA’s all-time leading scorer sidelined until mid-November.
The 40-year-old James is 50 games away from breaking Robert Parish’s record for most career regular season games. When he ultimately takes the court, he will be playing in his record-setting 23rd NBA season.
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FLAGG DEBUT
Perhaps no other player will enter the season with loftier expectations than Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg, who was the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and is already an overwhelming favourite to be named rookie of the year.
Flagg was the Mavericks’ second-leading scorer during the preseason and is likely to be a key part of the line-up for a Dallas team that missed the playoffs last season after trading superstar Luka Doncic to the Lakers in February.
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LONG SHOTS
There could be a surge in end-of-quarter miracle heaves this season after the NBA approved a rule that ensures the long-range shots will not have any impact on an individual player’s shooting percentage.
Under the new rule, shots attempted from a minimum of 36 feet away from the hoop and within the final three seconds of the first three quarters will count as a team shot attempt. The play must start in the backcourt.
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BROTHERLY LOVE
Four-time NBA champion Steph Curry’s hopes of playing on the same team as his younger brother Seth this season were put on hold as the latter was waived by the Golden State Warriors at the weekend.
The decision was considered temporary and the expectation is the Warriors will re-sign Seth when they have greater financial flexibility in November, a move that would allow the brothers to take an NBA court as teammates for the first time.
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INTERNATIONAL GAMES
The NBA will stage three games outside of the United States and Canada this season as part of the league’s ongoing push to grow the game globally.
Dallas and Detroit will meet in Mexico City on November 1 for the 34th NBA game played in Mexico – the most of any country outside of the U.S. and Canada – before January games in Berlin and London featuring Memphis and Orlando.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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