The 2025-26 NBA season is underway. The games kicked off with a double-overtime thriller in Oklahoma City Tuesday, followed by a star-studded duel between Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic. The rest of the league will play its first game Wednesday, with the exception of the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers, who begin Thursday.
In the months since the Oklahoma City Thunder lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy, the other 29 teams have been plotting to knock them off the mountaintop, signing, drafting and trading for new players to improve their rosters.Â
With many of these players making their debut tonight, we at VOZ took a look at the most impactful acquisitions of the offseason and how these players could alter the fate of their new teams.
Cooper Flagg – Dallas MavericksÂ
In February, the Dallas Mavericks shocked the basketball world when they traded away their franchise player, Luka Doncic, fresh off a run to the NBA Finals. The rest of the season descended into misery, with guard Kyrie Irving tearing his ACL and the principal return of the Doncic trade, Anthony Davis, struggling to stay on the court as well.Â
After missing the Playoffs, Mavs fans began to believe their worst fears had come true. However, in the NBA Draft Lottery, Dallas won the No. 1 overall pick despite having just 1.8% odds to do so. Their selection was Duke’s Cooper Flagg, a do-it-all forward who has so far looked every part of the young superstar many scouts expected him to be.
With Irving out for a significant portion of the season rehabbing his ACL, Flagg will need to assume a great deal of ballhandling duties for the Mavs to make it back in the Playoff picture, a tall order for a rookie.Â
However, Davis is healthy to start the season at the front of a loaded frontcourt rotation, and the Dallas defense has the length and versatility to lock up the league. The biggest question mark will be perimeter playmaking and scoring. Until Irving is back to steady the ship, Flagg and fellow offseason acquisition D’Angelo Russell will look to keep the Mavs on course.
Expectations for the Mavericks are relatively low, but with much of the NBA Finals pedigree still on the roster, including coach Jason Kidd, it’s not hard to see the Mavs returning to the elite of the Western Conference if Flagg can begin to replace Doncic’s gravity and production ahead of schedule.
Cameron Johnson – Denver Nuggets
After winning the 2022-23 championship, the Denver Nuggets have failed to recover their Playoff success. Two seasons ago, they fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a Game 7 collapse in the Western Conference Semis, and last year they were bounced by the eventual champion Thunder in another do-or-die game in the Conference Finals.Â
With the world’s best player, Nikola Jokic, still at the helm and in his prime, the Nuggets are feeling the pressure to make the most of this championship window. Evidence of this was their decision to fire their head coach and general manager last year with just three games left in the season.
With new coach David Adelman exceeding expectations in the Playoffs, the new front office leadership in Denver followed suit this offseason by trading for the Brooklyn Nets’ Cameron Johnson. In doing so, they gave up Michael Porter Jr., a key piece on the 2023 title team.
The trade accomplished two things. First, it doubled down on the Nuggets’ defensive identity, trading away a player seen as a bit of a liability for one who is more versatile on that end of the floor. Second, it saved Denver enough money to bolster its depth, adding former Nugget and 2023 champion Bruce Brown, Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas, and veteran swingman Tim Hardaway Jr.Â
Despite these benefits, it remains to be seen if Johnson and the other new adds will be able to make up for Porter Jr.’s shooting and rebounding and get the Nuggets back into championship form.
Kevin Durant – Houston Rockets
One of the legends of the game will don new threads this season. In fact, Kevin Durant already has, scoring 23 points in his Rockets debut, a 125-124 double-overtime loss to his former team, the Thunder.Â
Durant will provide a much needed boost in half-court scoring for Houston, who was eliminated in the first round of last year’s Playoffs despite finishing with the second-best record in the West. The Rockets’ run last year felt premature to many around the league, and with the Durant trade, general manager Rafael Stone has pushed his chips into the middle of the table.
Bad news struck for the Rockets, though, when point guard Fred VanVleet tore his ACL in the offseason, ruling him out for the year. Durant will need to help fill this distributing role, along with young guards Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard, in order to maximize the team’s potential with VanVleet out of the mix.
DeAndre Ayton – Los Angeles Lakers
Last year’s disappointing first-round exit at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves left the Los Angeles Lakers with a clear offseason mission: get bigger.
A year after acquiring Luka Doncic in the aforementioned deal with the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers are now looking to re-tool their roster on the fly. While the deal was seen as great value, giving away Anthony Davis left the team without a starting-caliber center. With Ayton, they now have a high-upside player in that role.Â
Ayton has essentially been discarded by both of his previous teams, and questions loom about his work ethic. However, he was a key piece of the Phoenix Suns team that made the NBA Finals and had the best record in the NBA the following season.
His talent and physical tools have never been a question, and he should theoretically be maximized next to a player like Doncic who draws multiple defenders. On a two-year deal that pays him $8 million per season, he was a low-risk acquisition for the Lakers. If he can embrace his role as a lob threat and defensive anchor, Doncic, LeBron James and co. may have found themselves the steal of the offseason.
Mike Brown – New York Knicks
The biggest coaching vacancy this offseason was in The Big Apple. The New York Knicks, fresh off a trip to the Conference Finals, fired their coach Tom Thibodeau after the team’s most successful season of the millennium.
While the move was questioned around the league, new coach Mike Brown could be the change of pace that the Knicks need.
Thibodeau was criticized for his reluctance to play bench players and his sometimes stagnant offense, though he was praised as a defensive mastermind.
Brown, on the other hand, has coached a variety of styles a teams over the years, most recently setting the then-record for offensive efficiency in the 2022-23 season with the Sacramento Kings. If he can bring some of this spark to New York while maintaining the Knicks’ defensive DNA, the Knicks will cement themselves as title contenders.
Kristaps Porzingis – Atlanta Hawks
One of the trendiest NBA sleepers for this upcoming season is the Atlanta Hawks. After making a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, Trae Young and the Hawks have struggled to regain their momentum.Â
After drafting high-potential forwards Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher and acquiring defensive stalwart Dyson Daniels via trade, the Hawks have retooled their roster with length and athleticism. One thing that was missing was shooting.
Kristaps Porzingis may fill this void. With size, shooting and championship experience, the Latvian center seems a perfect fit in Atlanta, provided he can stay healthy. After missing much of the Playoffs the last two seasons with the Boston Celtics, few other doubts linger about his fit.
Jrue Holiday – Portland Trail Blazers
Another former Celtic could have a winning impact on a young team. When Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the Playoffs last year, Boston was faced with a decision: pay for an expensive roster that would struggle to contend without its best player, or attempt to cut bait and look to the future. Brad Stevens and the Celtics opted for the latter.
On the same day the team announced the departure of Porzingis, they also said goodbye to Jrue Holiday, trading him to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Anfernee Simons.
Holiday is a win-now player, a curious move for the Blazers. However, after finishing the 2024-25 season on a high note, Portland has implied that it may be closer to Playoff contention than league consensus would indicate.
Holiday’s defense and maturity could help vault a young but athletic Trail Blazers team into the top 10 in the West, provided other young players like Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija continue to make progress.
Brandon Ingram – Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors will welcome a new All-Star into their lineup this season, despite the fact that he was actually acquired in the middle of the 2024-25 season.
Brandon Ingram was traded to the Raptors from the New Orleans Pelicans ahead of last year’s trade deadline. However, a lingering injury kept him off the court for the remainder of the season.
The Raptors are projected by many to fall outside the Playoff picture in the injury-weakened Eastern Conference, especially after their disappointing 2024-25 campaign. However, injuries of their own played a big part in their struggles, and starting this season healthy could spark a turnaround.
Adding a former All-Star to their lineup could be the icing on the cake and lead to a surprising run in a conference where two Playoff spots are likely up for grabs.
Lonzo Ball – Cleveland Cavaliers
Once a high school and college sensation, Lonzo Ball has yet to find that same success at the NBA level. However, it is hard to fault his play on the court for his lack of progress, rather his troubles staying healthy.
When he plays, Ball is an electric distributor, steady 3-point shooter and pesky defender, bringing 6-foot-6 size at the point guard position.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had a 64-18 record last year to top the Eastern Conference, but they were humiliated in the Conference Semifinals by the eventual conference champion Indiana Pacers.
They depended heavily on undersized guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, but this led to holes in their perimeter defense. Ball could help fix these flaws and round out the Cavs, provided he can avoid the injury bug.
Myles Turner – Milwaukee Bucks
One of the most shocking moves of the offseason was when the Milwaukee Bucks opted to waive and stretch All-Star guard Damian Lillard, who tore his Achilles tendon in last year’s Playoffs. The unprecedented move shocked the league, as did the signing that followed.
Myles Turner was coming off a trip to the NBA Finals with the Pacers, playing the role of defensive anchor and floor-stretcher as a center. There was little doubt he would return to Indiana, but Tyrese Haliburton’s tragic and unforeseen Achilles injury created a wrinkle in the equation.
When the Bucks and their over $30 million in cap space came calling, Turner answered, and now he will pair with perennial MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.
However, the situation remains uncertain. Antetokounmpo explored leaving the team over the summer, and the door is still cracked open for his exit. If the Bucks fail to get off to a solid start, trade rumors for the Greek superstar will be a black cloud over their season.
Al Horford – Golden State Warriors
Another departure from the rebuilding Celtics was veteran Dominican big man Al Horford. The beloved teammate joined the Golden State Warriors as his long career draws near its end.
Horford turned 39 in June, but he still proved effective as a defender and floor spacer for the Celtics last year.Â
The Warriors looked like a contender last season after acquiring Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline to pair with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. However, a hamstring injury to Curry in the Playoffs effectively ended their season.
WIth an aging roster, the Warriors will need a lot to go right health-wise to have a shot at Curry and Green’s fifth NBA title. What is certain is that when Horford plays, he will be an excellent complement for coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors.