Media day puts the NBA back on the floor Monday, with LeBron James set for his first public appearance in Philadelphia colors and a league full of new coach-player pairings moving from summer transactions into camp work.
Key takeaways
- Twenty-eight teams hold media day Monday before opening training-camp practices Tuesday.
- James enters a record 24th NBA season after signing a two-year deal with the 76ers.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo begins in Miami, while Kawhi Leonard returns to Toronto and Stephen Curry has extended his Golden State stay.
- Six clubs have new head coaches, led by Dallas hire Dusty May.
- The preseason begins Saturday, when Miami meets Toronto in Quebec City.
- The regular season opens October 20 with Boston at Detroit, followed by Philadelphia-New York and Oklahoma City-San Antonio.
Philadelphia opens a new LeBron chapter
James will walk into his first 76ers camp after taking several weeks to announce his Philadelphia decision during the offseason. The two-year agreement sends the league’s longest-tenured active star into a new locker room and gives the Sixers another proven championship voice beside Joel Embiid.
A title in Philadelphia would make the 76ers the fourth franchise to win it all with James on the roster. He collected two championships in Miami, brought one to Cleveland and won another with the Los Angeles Lakers.
James said Embiid’s pursuit of a first championship was central to his thinking. On his podcast with Steve Nash, James said he hopes to be the final piece that helps Embiid clear the obstacle, while also bringing a different perspective on the daily habits required to reach that level.
Miami, meanwhile, introduces Antetokounmpo alongside Bam Adebayo and recently acquired Klay Thompson as the Heat try to push back into the contender tier. Leonard is back with the Raptors after his difficult finish with the Los Angeles Clippers, returning to the franchise he led to the 2019 title.
Curry’s summer ended with a two-year Golden State extension. There was little expectation around the Warriors that he would seriously explore another destination, and the franchise marked the agreement with a simple message: Curry is staying for years ahead.
New benches, camps and the first dates on the calendar
Dallas and Houston already held their media events last week because their preseason schedules include international travel. May’s Mavericks camp is also underway, giving the former Michigan coach an early start on his NBA transition after guiding the Wolverines to the NCAA championship last spring.
May said his preparation has included conversations with active NBA coaches, with the focus less on X’s and O’s than the operating rhythm of a professional season. He is working through what his individual routine will be and how the Mavericks’ daily program needs to function.
Five more coaches begin their first practices in new jobs Tuesday:
- Jamahl Mosley with New Orleans
- Sean Sweeney with Orlando
- Taylor Jenkins with Milwaukee
- Tiago Splitter with Chicago
- Micah Nori with Portland
The camp calendar will send some teams away from their home facilities for portions of preparation, then the exhibition schedule runs through October 16. Miami and Toronto get the first preseason tip Saturday in Quebec City.
Opening day arrives October 20. Boston visits Detroit for a 3 p.m. ET start, then James and Philadelphia face the champion New York Knicks later that night. Oklahoma City travels to San Antonio in another marquee opener, a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals.
New York Finals MVP Jalen Brunson is also turning the page from the championship celebration. After hosting the season-opening episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” Brunson said he was ready to return to his real work.
Lakers coach JJ Redick framed the first camp days for what they are: a starting point, not a finished product. No team is playing at a championship standard in late September, he said, and building one requires daily growth across the full season.
