“Boston Celtics aim for repeat, Lebron James and Son unite for NBA season opener”.

Defending champion Boston goes in search of back-to-back titles, LeBron James joins his 20-year-old son and familiar faces in new places when the NBA’s 79th season begins Tuesday. The Celtics will uphold their record 18th championship when the New York Knicks visit Boston, while James and the Los Angeles Lakers host Minnesota in the opening game.

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Boston fans haven’t celebrated back-to-back NBA titles since 1968 and 1969 – the end of the Bill Russell dynasty era – but after ending a 16-year title drought, star Jayson Tatum craves such glory.

“It was never just about winning one,” Tatum said. “Now at least you’re in the same room with the other Celtics, great teams, the other great players.

“Now it’s just a conversation about how great do you want to be and at what level do you want to be mentioned at the end?”

Tatum, who helped the U.S. team win gold at the Paris Olympics, says the Celtics feel different as champions.

“It feels really different being up here as a champion and knowing what matters and wanting to be at the top of the mountain as often as possible,” Tatum said.

Tatum and Jaylen Brown lead an experienced Celtics lineup that includes star guard Jrue Holiday and injured center Kristaps Porzingis.

“We want to win a championship every year — that’s the goal, that’s the standard, that’s the expectation,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Just because something worked before doesn’t mean it will work again. That’s the challenge.”

James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer who turns 40 in December, joined his eldest son Bronny in the Lakers’ lineup in the preseason loss to Phoenix, the NBA’s first father-son combination.

“It was cool for both of us,” LeBron James said. “Definitely a moment I will never forget. It was like being in The Matrix or something. It just didn’t feel real.”

Big star Anthony Davis and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player James led the Lakers to the 2023 Western Conference Finals, but they were eliminated in round one last season.

A big offseason deal sent center Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks, while forward Julius Randle and guard Donte DiVincenzo went to Minnesota.

New York also added Mikal Bridges and with All-Star guard Jalen Brunson among the returning veterans, the Knicks could contend for their first NBA title since 1973.

“We can’t just worry about one team. We have to worry about the entire Eastern Conference,” Towns said.

“To accomplish what we want to do and what the city expects of us, we have to be a team that not only beats Boston, but finds a way to beat every team in the East.”

Klay Thompson was traded from Golden State to Dallas, where the four-time NBA champion will team with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to give last season’s NBA runner-up Mavericks a triple-threat attack.

Managing Embiid’s time

Swingman Paul George played for the Los Angeles Clippers last season but was not re-signed, so the 14-year veteran signed a free agent contract to join star center Joel Embiid and guard Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia.

Embiid will see limited action on consecutive nights in order to get to the playoffs healthy.

“We’re very focused on April, May and June,” said Daryl Morey, 76ers president of basketball operations. “That doesn’t mean time isn’t also very important at the moment, but we will be very smart about how we manage it over the season.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard lead Milwaukee, while Indiana and Cleveland should once again fight for the top spots.

The Atlanta Hawks have taken Zaccharie Risacher with the NBA’s top draft pick, the second straight Frenchman taken first overall after NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama went to San Antonio last season.

“Wemby” scored 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and a league-high 3.6 blocks per game in his debut season for the Spurs.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led a young Oklahoma City team to the top of the Western Conference last season and the Thunder will be impressive again along with Denver, powered by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, and Phoenix with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal .

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published via a syndicated news agency feed – AFP).