Nuggets-Knicks: After pushing the Thunder to Game 7 in last year’s Western Conference Semifinals, this time around it is Nikola Jokić and the bolstered Nuggets that prevail in seven games in the Western Conference Finals to dethrone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC and guarantee an eighth straight season with a new NBA champion.

An NBA Finals rematch kicks off Thursday’s NBA action, as the 1-0 Oklahoma City Thunder hit the road to play the Indiana Pacers in what is Indy’s season opener.

In what could be an Eastern Conference Finals preview, the Cavaliers will begin the 2025-26 NBA regular season on Oct. 22 against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

In the nightcap on NBC, the Warriors will visit the Lakers in Los Angeles. The league completely eschewed the Eastern Conference on its first showcase night in four months, indicating it understands something many fans have felt for some time now: The West is the far better conference.

Thursday’s NBA action isn’t nearly as extensive as the 12-game slate on Wednesday, as there are just four teams in action, but two are making their season debut

Oklahoma City opened as +240 back in June at BetMGM and enters the season at that same price.

The Christmas Day slate, a standard highlight of the annual NBA schedule, is as follows: (All games are on ESPN/ABC, and all times are Eastern) And of course, the season opens Oct. 21 on NBC and Peacock. The Rockets visit the defending champion Thunder at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Warriors visiting the Lakers at 10 p.m.

Preview the Houston Rockets' NBA matchup with Detroit, including betting odds, tips, trends, and game information.