On Oct. 19, the NBA’s 75th season officially began at tip off during the long-awaited rematch between the defending champions, the Milwaukee Bucks, and their rivals, the Brooklyn Nets. 

The game was reminiscent of their Eastern Conference finals match up last year, where the Bucks were deemed the victors and proceeded to beat the Phoenix Suns in the league finals to win their first NBA championship in 40 years. Coming into this NBA season, countless teams have things to prove. Teams such as the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns are hungry to prove to the world that last season wasn’t a fluke, while other teams such as the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat strive to prove that their fresh offseason additions could propel them high in the standings.

 In the opinion of many, the NBA’s most exciting opening game was between the New York Knicks and their historic rivals, the Boston Celtics. This iconic matchup took place at Madison Square Garden. Roaring Knicks fans gave a warm welcome to the team that carried them to the playoffs for the first time in seven years last season, as well as the new athletes that have been added to the team throughout the offseason. 

Throughout the first half, the game seemed rather close as neither team gained a large lead. Throughout the third and first half of the fourth quarter, the Knicks built what seemed to be a promising lead. 

During the last few minutes of regulation, however, the game took a drastic turn. As Celtics forward Grant Willams hit multiple three point shoots within the span of a few minutes, the game stood at 104-107 in favor of the Knicks. With seconds left on the shot clock, Celtics guard Marcus Smart drained the game-tying three to send the competition into overtime. After a tiring night of opening ceremonies and 48 minutes of regulation, the Knicks and Celtics battled it out through two overtimes, and the Knicks came out on top 134-138. 

When asked about the game, Sophomore Brandon Nabavian said “It was very entertaining to watch, I liked how it was a back and forth shootout. I noticed that the Knicks have improved as a team”. 

Taking a look across the country, the Los Angeles Lakers have been off to a dreadful start. Coming off an already suspicious preseason where they went 0-6, the Lakers went 0-2 to start the season. Over the offseason, the Lakers acquired two former all stars in Carmelo Anthony and Russel Westbrook. Both of them had shy regular season debuts, scoring 9 and 8 points respectively. “Even though the Lakers had a disappointing start to the season, I think they will improve throughout the course of the rest of the season and will build better chemistry” said sophomore Dylan Chaman.

Another hot topic circulating the NBA community in regards to the start of the season is how well the defending champions, the Milwaakue Bucks, will perform throughout the season. Fans have very mixed opinions on the matter. 

“I think the Bucks will do fantastic,” said sophomore Daniel Abda. But other fans believe that the only reason the Bucks got past the Nets last year in the Eastern Conference finals was because of luck. (During the 4th quarter of the Eastern Conference finals finale last season, Kevin Durant hit the game tying shot to send the game into overtime. The shot looked as though it was a three pointer, which would have won the game for the Nets and sent them to the finals, but after further review game officials recognized that Kevin Durant’s foot was on the three-point line, meaning that the shot was worth two points instead of three.) 

The Bucks, along with countless other teams this year, are hungry to prove something to the world.