5 must-see games for the 2016-17 season
The theme of the 2016-17 season is homecoming
With so many marquee names changing uniforms, several prominent dates on the regular season calendar will be highlighted by emotional reunions.
Here's five must-watch games from the upcoming NBA season:
Dec. 25 - Finals rematch
As usual, the prime-time game on Christmas Day will feature a rematch of the NBA Finals. So for the second year in a row, the Golden State Warriors will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers, just in a different venue.
LeBron James will get his first chance to measure up against a familiar Warriors squad that reloaded with Kevin Durant. As for Stephen Curry and company, they get the great displeasure of spending Christmas in Cleveland, away from their families, in a hostile gym full of jeering Cavaliers fans eager to remind them of their failures in last season's Finals.
Feb. 11 - Durant visits OKC
Speaking of hostile crowds, expect hellish mayhem at the Chesapeake Energy Arena when Durant pays his first visit since fleeing this offseason.
The city nicknamed "The Big Friendly" will be anything but nice to their former superstar. Durant will surely be booed every time he touches the ball while his teammates will have to somehow find a way to contain Russell Westbrook.
Nov. 10 - Wade returns to South Beach
Over in the East, another homecoming story will be met with celebration and appreciation, rather than hateful vitriol.
Dwyane Wade will take his talents back to South Beach as a member of the Chicago Bulls in the second week of the season. It seemed all along Wade would go down as one of those "Heat lifers" Pat Riley loves to trumpet, but a second-straight summer of tense contractual discussions led to a heartbreaking split.
Expect an uproarious ovation at the American Airlines Arena faithful.
Nov. 4 - Chicago hosts Noah and Rose
Yet another strange sight: Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah will return to Chicago wearing New York Knicks uniforms (or perhaps in suits; they both have spotty injury histories.)
The split was coming for quite some time. Rose wasn't the same after injuries, and Noah was due for a raise. The Bulls needed to rebuild, so they gutted their core.
As with Wade, expect loud cheers and a standing ovation for two of the best players in franchise history.
Dec. 16 - No. 1 vs. No. 2
The Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers will most likely finish as two of the worst teams in the league for a fourth-straight year, but at least they have their franchise cornerstones in place.
2016 first overall pick Ben Simmons is a 6-foot-10 athletic marvel who can run the offense like a guard and dunk like a center. His fate will forever be tied to second pick Brandon Ingram, a skinny 6-foot-9 swingman with a lethal jumper.
Simmons has the impossible task of living up to comparisons with LeBron James. His contemporary Ingram, by virtue of his lankiness, is often connected with Kevin Durant.
This will be the first of many meetings between the two prodigal talents.
Honorable mentions:
Dec. 13 - Thibs' Chicago return
It might not draw as much fanfare as the aforementioned returns of Rose and Noah, but Tom Thibodeau returns to the United Center with his new and improved Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jan. 13 - Horford vs. Hawks
After leading the Hawks to the playoffs in nine straight seasons - as many postseason appearances as the team had over the previous 19 years - Al Horford and his Boston Celtics return to Atlanta for the first time.