NBA Season Preview 2018-19: 5 things to watch for on Opening Night

BOSTON - MAY 9: Boston Celtics' Terry Rozier III leaps to try and block a pass from the 76ers' Joel Embiid during the first half. The Boston Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers in Game Five of the NBA Eastern Conference Semi Final playoff series at TD Garden in Boston on May 9, 2018. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) /

1. The biggest star in Tinsel Town

The premier thing to watch for is the premier player in the league, premiering for his new team. LeBron James is a Laker. This much you probably know.

He becomes the latest icon to enter into the shiny-gold mystique. The newest exhibition in the most exhibitionistic franchise in all of sports. It’s gonna be cool and weird and the Lakers will surely make it a peacocky and ostentatious affair.

Honestly, the Lakers didn’t deserve to land another all-time great, but past glory often drives future eminence and they’ve never been short on prestige. Joining LeBron will be a group of heady veterans on short contracts to supplement the young roster.

With the King in town and the margins bolstered, many predict the Lakers to get into the postseason. While LeBron’s certainly done more with less, he’s never had to play in such a competitive conference. He also turns 34 in December.

Next. NBA Season Preview 2018-19: Every team’s crash-and-burn scenario. dark

If anyone can fight the sands of time, its LeBron. He’s proven himself super-human for 15 years now. Season after season, he’s painted masterpieces on the hardwood. But taking a mediocre roster to the playoffs in this Western Conference, in his mid-thirties, on the grandest stage in professional basketball? That would be his Sistine Chapel.