Let the Games Begin!

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Welcome to NBA Today, presented by DraftKings.

SPEAKER_2 (0:14)

We watched this game for magic.

SPEAKER_3 (0:25)

We watched basketball to celebrate.

To cry, to believe. That indescribable feeling you get when the stars begin to shine. And the world becomes a little bit bigger than we ever imagined. And for a moment, we believe in anything. The impossible.

SPEAKER_4 (1:01)

Jokers wild!

SPEAKER_3 (1:03)

On the biggest stage.

SPEAKER_5 (1:05)

Steps back and go!

SPEAKER_3 (1:08)

The sound of a crowd that you can feel. Even heartbreak feels good in a sport like this.

Because our heroes feel like the best part of us. Every moment feels timeless.

SPEAKER_6 (1:26)

A figment of our basketball imagination.

SPEAKER_3 (1:29)

Because here, amazing happens. This is the 2026-27 NBA season.

SPEAKER_2 (1:47)

Hey, after over four months of NBA offseason, the weight is just about over. My friends, we are under an hour away from the season tipping off. We have a huge triple header lined up for the NBA tip-off. Jayson Tatum leads the Celtics into Detroit to take on last year's top-seeded Pistons. And Knicks fans, they're going to get a chance to see a banner raised in Madison Square Garden for the first time in over 50 years before Jalen Brunson and the Defending Champs get their first test against LeBron and the 76ers.

SPEAKER_8 (2:21)

Sign me up for that.

SPEAKER_2 (2:22)

And then, the two-time MVP, Shea Gildes Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the MVP favorite in Victor Wembanyama. A clash between the two-title favorites. And we cannot wait as we welcome you to NBA Today and the 2026-27 NBA season alongside Brian Windhorst, Kendrick Perkins, Amon Schumpert, and I am Malika Anderson. Perk, you know what this is like. Going into a season as an NBA champion, as an XR, you look like you cannot wait.

SPEAKER_9 (2:50)

As a what?

SPEAKER_2 (2:51)

As a champion, sir.

SPEAKER_9 (2:53)

Listen, this is my time of the year right here. When the season gets started and I get to tell the world how the cow ate the cabbage. How the cow ate the cabbage.

SPEAKER_2 (3:04)

What?

SPEAKER_9 (3:05)

I'm anticipating, damn it, this to be one of the best seasons that we've seen in the last 20 years and it's cranking off with the defending champs in New York City. Did y'all see Alan Iverson on the podcast? Did y'all hear what he said the other day?

That he'll trade it all in order to get into half a ring. So my message to the Knicks, embrace this moment. But on top of that, the whispers we've been hearing, they're not satisfied. They want to repeat. You know this, it's hard to repeat. The first thing you got to do is everybody got to buy in, right? The second thing is, you walking around town, so, you know what I mean? After you done won the championship, Wendy, Malika and everybody telling you, you are the reason.

SPEAKER_10 (3:49)

Oh yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_9 (3:50)

So now, can you go back and still be a star in your role?

SPEAKER_10 (3:53)

Can you be a star in your role, one, and can you come out here and say, even though the lights is going to be bright, we had a great time. It was a great summer. People was getting wet and sick. All type of stuff going on.

Can you come back, take that $250,000, maybe $500,000 ring, because that ring is going to be nice in New York. But can you come out here and kick ass?

Right after that, Philly is coming. You know what I mean? Immediately after the smoke clears from the court, Philly is coming and after Philly, everybody else in the league is going to want to throw a punch at that team. That's what you have to embrace when you come into the first game of the season, saying, I know y'all want to hit us and we want to hit back. Actually, we want to hit first.

SPEAKER_11 (4:36)

Let's remember that the version of the Knicks that we saw finish last season was dominant. The way they started the year and the way they ended the year was very different. They learned about themselves as the season went along. They learned about themselves throughout the playoffs. And yeah, you can focus on maybe at one player left, Mitchell Robinson. Yeah, you can focus on they didn't get all their contracts lined up. They got nine of their top 10 guys back.

The continuity is going to be on their side. They got health on their side. They're going to have a lot of confidence on their side. I think the Knicks are going to be formidable from night one. And we are seeing a league this year where legitimately 27 or 28 teams actually trying to win. We didn't see that a year ago. You're going to see a much higher level of competition starting in one hour with the Celtics and Pistons.