The beginning of the 2025-26 NBA season has featured a ton of exciting basketball so far (for most fan bases, at least).

Over in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors and Magic cruised to 4–0 records to win Group A and Group B, respectively. The Knicks won Group C with a 118–109 win over the Bucks on Friday, and Miami clinched the wild card with both the Pistons and Cavaliers losing.

Before group play begins, a group play draw took place on Wednesday, July 9. Each team was placed into a "pot" based on its record from the prior regular season (2024-25). In each conference, one team from each pot was randomly selected into each of the three groups in that conference.

This ought to be a classic matchup of strength against strength: the Knicks’ potent offense, led by point guard Jalen Brunson, against the Raptors’ stingy defense. New York has missed forward OG Anunoby, one of the league’s most versatile defenders, who has been sidelined since Nov. 14 because of a strained left hamstring.

By the time the final buzzer sounds on Friday night, we will know the eight teams advancing to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, the bracket-style knockout round stage of the tournament.

The first week of the 2025-26 NBA season is through and, already, there’s no shortage of compelling story lines at work.

It has played a key role in space milestones, including the launch of Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, in 1961 and so reports of its damage, and the halting of manned flights to space from the site, will deliver a blow to the prestige of Russia’s space program.

The Toronto Raptors are one of the league's hottest teams as the NBA goes into its second month of play. The Raptors have won 11 of their last 12 games, but tha