Opening-week ledger: LeBron's Sixers debut, a three-team S-tier, and Temple's quiet exit
The NBA season opens with a Knicks-Sixers showcase, a Locked On tier list that puts the Thunder, Spurs and Knicks alone at the top, an early MIP campaign for Cooper Flagg, and Garrett Temple's retirement after 16 seasons.
- The season opens with Knicks-Sixers, which Locked On hosts call one of the most anticipated regular-season games in recent memory; LeBron James and Brown are both set to make Sixers debuts. m:…1943
- Locked On's preseason poll puts three teams in S-tier — the Thunder, Spurs and Knicks — and two teams, the Bucks and Kings, in F-tier. m:…1602
- A Locked On host picks Cooper Flagg for Most Improved Player and calls him viable if he jumps into the league's top 20-25 players; the hosts' MVP picks split between Victor Wembanyama and Luka Doncic. m:…6844
- Garrett Temple retired from his NBA playing career after 16 seasons and 793 games. m:…1137
- Luka Doncic dealt with calf and hamstring issues in the preseason, and the Lakers' core trio of Doncic, Austin Reeves and Walker Kessler played only one quarter together. m:…7347
The opener
The NBA season tips off with a Knicks-Sixers opener that Locked On's hosts call one of the most anticipated regular-season games in recent memory. Philadelphia's roster now includes LeBron James and Brown, both set to make Sixers debuts, and the hosts expect finals-level volume in the building. m:…1943
The Knicks side of the story, per the hosts: New York is drawing a record number of media credential requests for the opener. Philadelphia has played exactly one preseason game with its full starting lineup, against the Nets, and the hosts describe LeBron as the team's primary offensive orchestrator — a quarterback rather than a traditional point guard. The Sixers are also intentionally playing at a faster pace, even with Joel Embiid on the floor. m:…1943
The clock math hangs over it: LeBron turns 42 at the end of December, and one host characterizes the Sixers' window as limited by his age and Embiid's health status. The same host calls this the strongest Eastern Conference of his lifetime. m:…1943
The tier list
Locked On's preseason rankings put three teams alone in S-tier: the Thunder, the Spurs and the Knicks. The A tier runs ten deep — Timberwolves, 76ers, Raptors, Celtics, Cavs, Pistons, Rockets, Lakers, Pacers and Nuggets. B tier: Heat, Magic, Hawks, Jazz, Suns, Trail Blazers and Mavericks. C tier: Wizards, Warriors, Hornets, Grizzlies, Pelicans and Bulls. D tier: Nets and Clippers. F tier: Bucks and Kings. m:…1602
The host consensus has a hard edge: teams in B tier or lower do not have a realistic championship chance this year. The hosts also note there has not been a repeat NBA champion in the last eight years — my read on that history lesson is that preseason tiers have a way of humbling themselves by spring. m:…1602
Award talk
One Locked On host is already running a Most Improved Player campaign for Cooper Flagg, picking him outright and calling him viable for the award if he jumps into the league's top 20-25 players. The reasoning leans on history: MIP winners are typically young players who transition into All-Stars. m:…6844
The hosts' MVP split is more fun. One picks Victor Wembanyama, calling this his MVP-and-DPOY year. The other takes Luka Doncic to carry his team to a top-four seed while averaging a 30-point triple-double. The same hosts project a Thunder-Knicks Finals — an internally consistent pick given the S-tier above, and my read is that the hosts know it. m:…6844
The exits
Garrett Temple retired from his NBA playing career after 16 seasons and 793 games, per the LSU news feed — a quiet end after a career built on simply keeping finding work. Ben Simmons, meanwhile, is out for the 2026-27 season with an Achilles tendon injury. m:…1137
Among the other alumni notes: Duop Reath signed a two-way contract with the Suns, Naz Reid is beginning his eighth NBA season with the Hornets, and Tari Eason is back for a fifth season with the Rockets. m:…1137
Preseason footnotes
In Los Angeles, the Lakers' core trio of Luka Doncic, Austin Reeves and Walker Kessler played only one quarter together all preseason, and Doncic dealt with calf and hamstring issues. One host is nonetheless more optimistic about the defense after the preseason, projecting a middle-of-the-pack unit rather than a bottom-third one, built on ball pressure and Kessler's rim protection. m:…7347
In Detroit, Cade Cunningham averaged 14 points on 51 percent shooting across three preseason games, Jalen Duren dropped 24 points in 15 minutes against Minnesota, and coach J.B. Bickerstaff indicated 18 players are capable of playing rather than a fixed 10- or 11-man rotation — notable depth for a team the hosts placed in A tier. m:…8770 m:…1602
What is still unresolved
- Whether the S-tier consensus survives contact with the regular season — the hosts themselves note no repeat champion in eight years.
- Whether Cooper Flagg makes the top-20-25 leap his MIP case requires.
- Whether LeBron James and Joel Embiid's health holds up under the Sixers' faster pace.
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