+ Swedish star
After two seasons in the world’s best basketball league, Pelle Larsson has risen in stature at the Miami Heat. Larsson recently signed a huge contract worth almost 590 million kronor over four years, showing how much the club believes in the 25-year-old from Nacka.
Last season, Larsson was in Miami’s starting lineup 54 times before the team was eliminated by the Charlotte Hornets in the play-in tournament.
+ Hyped the move
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been named the league’s “MVP” twice, and five years ago he led the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA title. This summer, the 31-year-old Greek was traded to Miami, and Larsson is one of his new teammates who has impressed Antetokounmpo the most.
“Pelle is damn good. I had no idea,” the star said recently.
+ The legendary move
LeBron James has also changed teams, moving from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Philadelphia 76ers. The 41-year-old legend already holds the record for the most seasons in the NBA and is now entering his 24th. James has so far won the NBA title with every team he has represented - one with the Cleveland Cavaliers, two with the Miami Heat and one with the Lakers. Is it the 76ers’ turn now?
+ The Champions’ Meeting
The 76ers and four-time champion LeBron James face last season’s champions, the New York Knicks, in Tuesday’s opening game at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks’ long-awaited NBA title this summer was their first since 1973, and now the club will try to become the first team in the 2020s to win two titles in a row.
+ The Giant
However, the favorites are primarily the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, the Western Conference’s presumed top teams, who also meet in the season opener. The Spurs have French megastar Victor Wembanyama, the 224-centimeter-tall 22-year-old who was part of the team that defeated Sweden in the World Cup qualifiers at the Globe Arena at the end of the summer. “Wemby” is also the betting companies’ favorite to be named the NBA’s “MVP” for the first time. The award went to Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in each of the past two seasons. He plays for the season-opening opponents, “OKC.”
+ The opening round
Tuesday: Detroit-Boston, New York-Philadelphia, San Antonio-Oklahoma City.
Wednesday: Orlando-Atlanta, Washington-Milwaukee, Miami-Minnesota, Brooklyn-Charlotte, Toronto-Chicago, Memphis-Utah, New Orleans-Indiana, Houston-Dallas. Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State, Portland-Phoenix, LA Clippers-Sacramento.
The remaining two teams, Cleveland and Denver, will not play their respective opening games until Thursday.
+ How the season works
The 30 teams play 82 games each before the regular season ends on April 11 next year. The playoffs then continue until June.
+ Television
HBO Max.
