The 80th NBA season officially gets underway with a pair of Western conference games bound to come down to the wire. From familiar faces on unfamiliar teams to new faces looking to kick off their NBA careers on the right foot, Tuesday’s matchups have been highly anticipated since the conclusion of the NBA finals in June.
Rockets @ Thunder
The first game of the night is the Houston Rockets vs the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Rockets are coming off a fantastic 2024-2025 season where they defied expectations and cruised to a 2 seed in the West. The Houston fan base has been ready for this game ever since they made a move to acquire 15 time All Star Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns. Head Coach Ime Udoka believes he finally has the pieces together as his squad is filled with talent, experience, and youth. However, Tuesday is no easy task for the Rockets as they face off against 2024-2025 NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder are coming off of arguably the greatest season in franchise history. They obtained the one seed fairly easily and never looked back. Led by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder are set to have another great season.
Hingham High School senior Teddy Anderson says, “I think the only team that has a chance at competing with Oklahoma City this year is the Rockets. This opening night could be a preview of the western conference finals.” This game tips off at 7:30pm EST on October 21st on NBC.
Warriors @ Lakers
The second game of the double header is between two historic franchises with continued success and the trophies to prove it. The visiting Warriors are coming off of a very disappointing season and are worried their window to win is beginning to close as two time MVP Steph Curry nears retirement. Warriors GM Bob Meyer has worked to surround Curry with as much talent for this upcoming season as possible with guys like Jimmy Butler and Buddy Hield looking to take the weight off of his shoulders.
Junior at HHS Gus Doggett states that, “The Warriors are going to be a scary team this year. Now being familiar with each other, Curry, Butler, and Hield are destined to turn their elite scoring ability into wins.”
Similarly the Lakers are led by 40 year old LeBron James. However, James will be unavailable to play in this game due to an injury to his sciatica. Fortunately for the Lakers, they acquired Luka Doncic prior to the 2025 trade deadline which gives Los Angeles fans something to look forward to for opening night. This game will begin on October 21st at 10:00pm EST on NBC.
