The final eight preseason games will be played tonight as teams prepare for the start of the regular season in just four days, NBA reports.
The preseason may not conclude until later tonight, but this throwdown unleashed by Houston’s JD Davison – and the reaction from the Rockets’ bench – is regular season-ready.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Oct. 17, 2025
NBA TV Tonight: A West Semis rematch in OKC & a Cali clash in L.A. to close the preseason
League Pass: Wemby & Spurs looking to finish preseason unbeaten leads a six-game slate
MVP Watch List: Shaun Powell shares his top 10 MVP candidates entering the season
Finishing Strong: Rockets, Magic & Bulls close preseason with wins on Thursday
In Harmony: Cade’s strong preseason ends in Motown, while Jazz come up clutch
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Putting a bow on the preseason…
The 2025-26 preseason wraps up tonight with an NBA TV doubleheader, beginning with the 2025 champion Thunder hosting the 2023 champion Nuggets (8 ET), followed by the Lakers hosting the Kings (10:30 ET).
Get ready for tonight’s eight-game slate with The Association – the new weeknight prime-time “basketball-cast” featuring MJ Acosta-Ruiz, David Fizdale, Rudy Gay, Chris Haynes and John Wall, blending real-time analysis, player perspective and authentic hoops conversation – on NBA TV and the NBA App at 7:30 ET.
Real Training Camp: Go behind the scenes with No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks as well as Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons as they prepare for the upcoming season.
30 Rocks at 30 Rock: The week-long celebration of the NBA’s return to NBC (beginning with Tuesday’s opening night doubleheader) tipped off on Thursday featuring 30 team-inspired basketballs, a custom LED court, fan events and appearances by NBA legends.
Win City: After capturing their third title in four years, the Las Vegas Aces will celebrate the 2025 WNBA championship with a parade today at 5 ET.
1. ON NBA TV: WEST SEMIS REMATCH & CALI RIVALS CLASH
Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images
One more victory.
With it, the Nuggets would’ve advanced to last season’s West Finals. But it’s also how the Thunder reached the next stage, defeating that very opponent, en route to winning the title.
Now it’s one last preseason contest for each of these West powerhouses when they clash tonight at Paycom Center in OKC (8 ET, NBA TV).
The league’s most recent MVPs will go head-to-head as the Nuggets and Thunder meet for the first time since the West Semis.
- Top Dogs: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32.7 ppg, 6.4 apg in 2024-25) and Nikola Jokić (26.4 ppg, 12.4 rpg in 2023-24) have been the NBA’s best in the last two years. | Loud City: SGA named MVP
- Bar Raised: The teams around them face similarly-high expectations, as the NBA GM survey for the West gave OKC 87% of 1st-place votes and Denver 53% of 2nd-place
- Bench Ballers: Depth is a big reason why – Peyton Watson (12 points) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (10) produced off the bench in the Nuggets’ last outing Tuesday against the Bulls
- Rolling Deep: That same night, the Thunder’s Branden Carlson and Brooks Barnhizer scored 17 and 10 points, respectively, despite not starting in the team’s victory in Milwaukee
The second act of tonight’s NBA TV doubleheader has the Kings paying a visit to their in-state rival Lakers (10:30 ET).
And on Wednesday, much transpired for Sacramento less than a week before the season tips off.
- Here To Stay: The team signed Keegan Murray to a five-year extension after career highs of 56.6 2P% and 6.7 rpg last season
- Late Splash: Russell Westbrook signed on a one-year deal, adding a proven scorer and former MVP to the mix. | Chris Haynes breaks down the deal on The Association
- New Place, Familiar Face: The 18th-year guard still possesses the most all-time triple-doubles (203), including four last season when he averaged 13.3 ppg, 6.1 apg and 4.9 rpg for the Nuggets
- Bigger Picture: Westbrook’s playmaking and athleticism brings a versatile, veteran presence behind the core of Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan
2. ON LEAGUE PASS: WEMBY SHOWING OUT IN PRESEASON
Last week, we chronicled Victor Wembanyama’s road back to the court after his second season was cut short due to a blood clot in his shoulder.
From China’s Shaolin Temple, to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas, to one-on-one time with Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, Wemby’s journey was both physical and spiritual as he looked to push the limits of what is possible for him to achieve.
On Oct. 6, he took the court for the Spurs for the first time in 236 days in San Antonio’s preseason opener, flirting with a triple-double (9 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast) in just 16 minutes.
Tonight, Wemby and the Spurs look to close out the preseason with an unblemished 5-0 record when they host the Pacers (8 ET, League Pass).
Before Wemby’s final preparation for his third NBA season, let’s look back at some of his best moments of the preseason.
Want more? We had an all-access pass to Spurs practice last week for a behind-the-scenes look at how they’re preparing for the upcoming season.
In addition to Spurs-Pacers, the final night of the preseason features five more games on League Pass.
- Nets at Raptors (7 ET): After splitting two games with the Suns in Macao, the Nets return to North America with a stop in Toronto to face Brandon Ingram – who is averaging 20 ppg in the preseason – and the Raptors
- Wolves at Sixers (7 ET): Philly coach Nick Nurse said there is “some chance” that Joel Embiid plays in the Sixers’ preseason finale against the Wolves. | NBA Insider Chris Haynes shared more on Embiid on The Association
- Hornets at Knicks (7:30 ET): The Hornets put up an NBA preseason high 145 points in their last game – Wednesday’s win over Memphis that saw LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges each drop 20+ points
- Grizzlies at Heat (8 ET): Both teams enter the final night of the preseason looking for their first wins of 2025-26
- Clippers at Warriors (10 ET): LA’s off season additions – John Collins (24 pts, 6 reb), Brook Lopez (16 pts, 4 3pm) and Chris Paul (8 pts, 10 ast) – made big impacts on Wednesday. What can they do for an encore against Golden State?
3. MVP LADDER: 10 PLAYERS TO WATCH
Each Friday throughout the season, Shaun Powell will drop his latest Kia MVP Ladder on NBA.com, examining the race for the league’s most coveted individual honor.
Today, with opening night just four days away, Powell will break down 10 candidates on his MVP watch list for the upcoming season. Turn on your push notifications in the NBA App to be first to know when it drops.
The 10 candidates on the watch list are split into two categories — the usual suspects, and the potential surprises. We won’t give away the lists here, but we can offer a few hints.
- The usual suspects include four players that already have at least one MVP trophy in their case – and have combined to win the award eight times in the last 11 seasons
- The potential surprises feature some of the league’s rising stars, including a player known for coming up clutch, players featured prominently in Sections 2 & 5 of today’s newsletter, a fixture on the Dunk Score leaderboard, and two players with a 70+ point game
4. ROCKETS, MAGIC, BULLS CLOSE PRESEASONS ON HIGH NOTE
When asked which team made the best overall moves this off season, the league’s General Managers gave 80 percent of the vote to the Hawks (53%) and Rockets (27%).
Those two new-look squads met on Thursday in the preseason finale for both teams.
Rockets 133, Hawks, 115: While Atlanta showed off all its off season acquisitions on Thursday, Houston’s only key addition to suit up was Josh Okogie. He showed out, out-scoring all opponents with 28 points, while racking up a game-high three blocks. | Recap
- H-Town Hype: Houston certainly lived up to the GMs’ praise this preseason, going 4-0 while averaging over 130 points per game to pace the league
- At Home In Atlanta: Kristaps Porziņģis steadily increased his output across the board in three preseason games, notching his first Hawks double-double (23 pts, team-high 13 reb) on Thursday
- Reed These Stats: Top scorer for the top offense? Last year’s 3rd overall pick Reed Sheppard, who filled the stat sheet (29 pts, 5 3pm, 6 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl, 3 blk) and joined The Association afterward
Magic 132, Pelicans 125: Magic coach Jamahl Mosley gave his starters their first taste of 4th quarter action and it proved to be the difference, as Orlando pulled away late to finish the preseason 4-0. | Recap
- Blue Devils Duke It Out: Former Duke stars and top picks Zion Williamson (18 pts, 6 ast) and Paolo Banchero (19 pts, 10 reb) had similar nights, with Zion on the dishing end (to Trey Murphy III ⬆️) and Paolo on the finishing end of highlight reel alley-oops
- Offensive Magic: Orlando’s off season focus on offense has produced the second-highest scoring average (126.5 ppg) in the league this preseason, pairing nicely with their noteworthy defense
Bulls 126, Wolves 120: After dropping consecutive games to the Bucks and Nuggets by single digits, the Bulls made sure to close out their 2025-26 preseason with a win, putting up a 40-point 4th quarter to pull away from the Wolves. | Recap
- Buzelis & Balance: As he prepares for his second season, Matas Buzelis led the way for Chicago with 19 points, two blocks and some nasty handles (⬆️) as he led seven Bulls in double figures
- Leading The Pack: The Wolves duo of Anthony Edwards (25 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, 3 3pm) and Julius Randle (23 pts, 8 reb, 2 stl) combined for 48 in the loss. | Wolves turn defense to offense | Seven passes lead to Rudy Gobert and-1
5. CADE & PISTONS TOP WIZARDS, JAZZ CLOSE OUT BLAZERS
Last season, the ascent of the Pistons ran parallel with the leap made by Cade Cunningham.
As Detroit made a 30-win jump and ended a five-year Playoff drought, Cade earned his first All-Star and All-NBA selections in his fourth season.
With Detroit looking to climb higher in 2025-26, Cunningham is looking to lead the way. And his preseason performances – averaging 20.7 ppg and 7.3 apg on 62.9% FG, 58.3% 3P, 91.7% FT shooting following Thursday’s preseason finale – show he’s ready to go.
Pistons 119, Wizards 98: Cunningham (16 pts, 12 ast, 3 stl) and Jalen Duren (20 pts, 6 reb, 3 blk) combined for 36 points to power the Pistons over the Wizards, who got a combined 37 points from Kyshawn George and CJ McCollum in the loss. | Recap
- The Turning Point: After Washington overcame a 16-point deficit to take a one-point lead with 7:01 left in the 3rd quarter, Detroit responded with a 10-0 run to regain control and outscored the Wizards 50-28 over the game’s final 19 minutes
- Cade Does It All: From finishing the nasty reverse layup off the drive (⬆️), to floating up the pinpoint alley-oop dime to Duren off the pick-and-roll, to protecting the rim with an emphatic swat, Cade was in his bag on Thursday
Chris Gardner/NBAE via Getty Images
Jazz 132, Blazers 129: The preseason is a time to work on all aspects of the game – including clutch time execution.
After going 8-25 in clutch games a season ago, the Jazz came up big down the stretch in their preseason finale, ending the game on a 13-4 runto get their first taste of victory in 2025-26. | Recap
- George & Kessler Show: Keyonte George scored a team-high 20 points to lead six Jazz players in double figures while Walker Kesser filtered with a triple-double (14 pts, 10 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk)
- Blazer Trio: Jerami Grant scored a game-high 32 points with five 3s, while Jrue Holiday (24 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast) and Shaedon Sharpe (20 pts) combined to add 44 as Portland ended its preseason at 1-3
