The 2015-16 NBA season tipped off with three games yesterday and another 14 will follow today. Sports reporter Robert van Royen identifies three of the biggest story lines for the new season, and makes a few predictions.
1. Kobe's last season?
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant could well be playing his final season in the NBA.
The 37-year-old has played only 41 games since tearing his Achilles tendon at the end of the 2012-13 season.
He also fractured his knee a couple of years ago and has not been able to help the once brilliant franchise from becoming a cellar-dweller.
All Bryant can do is hope to help the Lakers, which picked up Ohio State point guard D'Angelo Russell with the second pick in June's draft, start building for the future.
The Lakers also signed former Pacers centre Roy Hibbert and former Raptors guard Lou Williams in the off-season, but realistically will struggle to even clinch the eighth seed in the talent-laden Western Conference.
Bryant has racked up 32,482 points since debuting for the Lakers in 1996.
Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) have more.
2. End of an era in San Antonio?
Things could look very different in San Antonio this time next year.
Tim Duncan (39) is rumoured to be considering retirement after the season, particularly if the Spurs win a sixth title since he was drafted by the team in 2007.
If Duncan calls it quits, that could spark coach Gregg Popovich (66), who has hinted in the past at retiring when his key big-man does, to follow suit.
Journalists will not miss his one-word answers, but the mastermind behind the Spurs' success will be deeply missed in the Texas city if he indeed departs.
Veteran Manu Ginobili, who had to be convinced by team-mates not to retire during the off-season, is another player who could be playing his last season in the NBA.
However, the Spurs are set to challenge for another title.
They signed former Pacers forward David West and former Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge in the off-season.
Add in others such as Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Boris Diaw, and this team is primed to challenge the Golden State Warriors.
3. Kevin Durant's return
2013-14 MVP Kevin Durant is coming off an injury-plagued season with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 27-year-old was struck down by a fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot before the season even started.
He did not make his season debut until December, but lasted only a couple of weeks before missing more time with a sprained ankle.
Durant then sprained a toe and limped through to March, before he was ruled out of basketball for up to six months so he could have bone graft surgery on his troublesome right foot.
He averaged 25.4 points in 27 games, but the Thunder struggled through the season and eventually missed out on the playoffs.
However, Durant is now fit and raring to go. Fellow star Russell Westbrook, who also missed time with a foot injury last year, is also back.
The pair are devastating when in sync, and will surely put the Thunder back into the playoff picture.
But foot injuries can haunt players - Rockets big man Yao Ming's career was cut short by injuries similar to Durant's in 2010 - particularly an explosive player such as the former MVP.
Durant is off-contract at the end of the season, and needs his foot, which has been operated on three times in seven months, to hold up.
