September 6th 2025 at 4:28pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
The Knicks are looking like the class of the Eastern Conference heading into the 2025/26 season. But the team will invariably deal with a variety of challenges throughout the year, posits Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link).
All-Defensive forward OG Anunoby has dealt with his fair share of health issues, as has All-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns recently. Practically everyone got hurt during the club’s 2024 playoff run, before Towns was on the roster. New York has added veteran depth this summer to hopefully serve as insurance for potential injuries during the season.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
In a poll of colleagues, NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg takes a look at how the Celtics could potentially surprise people’s diminished expectations next year, following an offseason of change. Boston traded away former starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, let backup center Luke Kornet walk in free agency, and appears ready to do the same for Al Horford. The team is in something of a holding pattern as it awaits the return of All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum from Achilles tear, which may not happen until 2025/26.
Celtics center Neemias Queta, Boston’s fourth-string option at the position last year, will compete for rotational minutes with new signings Luka Garza and Chris Boucher. The 7-footer is angling for a breakout run in 2025/26, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. The 26-year-old has been grappling with a lingering knee injury for years. “I got rested enough this offseason and I think that I put myself in the best position to have a breakout season,” Queta said. “I have the tools to compete with the best.”
Second-year Sixers big man Adem Bona is competing for his adopted homeland of Turkey in this year’s EuroBasket tournament. He moved there from Nigeria as a precocious 13-year-old. The 6’9″ pro recently revealed how his childhood helped propel him on his hoops junior, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. “I only played for a year before I left home to move to Turkey,” Bona said. “My first basketball shoes were given to me by a friend… Basketball was just something I really liked because of the pace and the tempo. So it kind of drove me to the game when I started playing for the first time. It was really amazing.”