The 2026-27 NBA season projects to be a fantastic one. The league has worked hard to put in rules that largely disincentivize tanking — which means that, in theory, all 30 teams will be full-throttle for the entirety of the regular season.
As a result, we've seen numerous big trades this offseason, as so many organizations are trying to maximize their current rosters. Needless to say, there will be a ton of interesting teams and players to watch this season, perhaps more than in any year in recent memory. However, these five players have a little bit more for us to keep an eye on.
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
For years, people have been telling the Boston Celtics that they need to split up their star tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. This offseason, they finally decided to do it, trading Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers.
It makes sense in the abstract. For years, Tatum has largely been the better player. The only issue is that he is coming off a torn Achilles — an injury that has ruined many careers. Yes, Tatum was able to come back way sooner than anyone coulld have reasonably expected. But is he still the perennial top-10 player he was before getting hurt? The Celtics better hope so, because if not, they bet on the wrong horse.
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Much like Tatum and the Celtics, the Indiana Pacers were without their best player last year in Tyrese Haliburton. But unlike Boston, Haliburton didn't play at all, and the Pacers were abysmal without him.
The last time Haliburton was healthy, he, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner had Indiana one win away from winning it all. Turner is gone, but the rest remain, and the Pacers got a more capable big man (Ivica Zubac) to fill Turner's place.
With Haliburton back, it's tempting to say the Pacers are good to go. But the East is way better than it was two years ago, so Indy will need Haliburton to be just as good as ever — if not even better — if they hope to finish what they started.
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are going to be the team everyone is watching this season. Their starting lineup features a superstar guard (Tyrese Maxey), a jaw-dropping youngster (VJ Edgecombe), the most controversial high-profile forward in the sport (Jaylen Brown), the best forward to ever grace our game (LeBron James) and another former MVP (Joel Embiid).
The issue is that the last player we mentioned — the one who is arguably the least replaceable — is also Philly's least reliable. Embiid has basically never made it through an entire season (the lone exception being the dreaded 2021 run). Now, this on-paper superteam is relying on him to pull off the impossible in order to live up to their billing.
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
The only player listed here who isn't coming off a serious injury (or, in Embiid's case, injuries plural). The end is near for Stephen Curry, and as such he's desperately chasing a fifth championship ring. But is this Golden State Warriors' team capable of even coming close? If they can't, is Curry seriously going to request a trade from the only team he's ever known? Or what if Curry doesn't really care about scaling the mountain one more time and just wants to remain a one-team star?
There are so many different ways this last chapter of Curry's career can go, and since he's not the usual suspect for this type of speculation, it makes it even more fun and refreshing to discuss.
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
This Portland Trail Blazers team is just generally intriguing to me. After a punchy effort against the Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, they decided to take a swing at Ja Morant. Will he find his old groove in a new home? And that's not even to mention youngsters like Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan, Yang Hansen, Scoot Henderson, Shaedan Sharpe and Toumani Camara. Can any of them take a leap? How much do Jrue Holiday and Robert Williams III have left in the tank?
At the epicenter of it all is Damian Lillard. The last time we saw him, Lillard was an All-Star, averaging 24.9 points per game and 7.1 assists per game. But that was one torn Achilles ago. The Blazers got him to come back on a hometown discount, but does the franchise icon have enough left in the tank to make it actually worth their while?
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