October has just begun and it is not only Halloween season, but also NBA season! It is a tradition for many NBA fans to share their hot takes on the league all the time. With the season only a couple weeks away it’s getting towards the deadline for pre-season predictions. So I’ll be talking about my personal hot takes for the NBA 2025-2026 season. 

My first take is about the Boston Celtics and their contention status this season. With Jayson Tatum being out for a good portion of the season there are a lot of questions on whether they could still be in playoff contention. Even with them trading both Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis to avoid salary cap issue, they still have a pretty solid team without them.  Now, it will put a significant amount of pressure on Jaylen Brown with him having to be the primary star of the team, but he will have scoring help from Anfernee Simons and Derrick White. Even still, people are doubting that they can stay afloat and have a good record. What a lot of people fail to realise is that the eastern conference is wide open this season compared to before. The Pacers will be significantly worse with Tyrese Haliburton being gone for the season and the Milwaukee Bucks being, most likely, mediocre at best. As long as the Celtics can secure a playoff spot before Jayson Tatum returns, they still have a very good chance at making it far this season.

My second take is that I do not have faith in the Atlanta Hawks making a real championship push. Now, I do think this is the best team that have had in the Trae Young era so far with trading for Kristaps Porziņģis. As well as the recent development of Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, and year 2 player Zaccharie Risacher really stepping up in the 2025 season. Those three provide elite defense that Trae Young is lacking, but there are still issues in the team. Young has not really shown himself to be the leader the team needs since the 2021 playoffs when they made the conference finals. Last year, Trae had his 2nd lowest scoring season and had his worst efficiency of his career. I do think the Hawks will be a strong team this season, but nowhere near as good as a lot of people predict they will be. I think this team is a second round exit at best because they would most likely end up going against Detroit, Boston, Cleveland, or New York in the second round if they even make it. I think all four of those teams would blow them out of the water and I would not put my money on a good season for the Hawks.

Lastly, as a Phoenix Suns fan it pains me to say this, but it’s time to give up on Devin Booker. Devin Booker is entering his 10th season in the NBA and I think it is time for him to jump ship. Ever since 2021 when they made the finals with Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, and Devin Booker as their big three, they have just been a disappointing team ever since. With getting a new owner, they ruined any hopes of a championship they once had. They acquired Kevin Durant, which was a pretty solid deal overall. Then, they traded Ayton for Portland center Jusuf Nurkić, which was a disaster. Then, they decided to trade Chris Paul in 2023 for Bradley Beal which had gone even worse. With Beal having an insane $50 million dollar contract with a no-trade clause, it was near impossible to get rid of him. His performance after he joined the team was significantly worse than when he was in Washington and as a cherry on top he barely played. This offseason they chose to trade Kevin Durant after his stint with the team went nowhere, and they got back nothing that will really make them competitive. I think it is the best choice for the Suns to go full rebuild and have a full reset on their team. Devin Booker has never been the problem with the Suns, but I do not think he will have any success with the team going forth. I think it is time for Booker to request a trade, the team has not actually attempted to build a team that will work around him. He is such a good player and I do not want to see him stuck on an unsuccessful team when he could be out there winning championships.

With the NBA season coming up, it is fun to see fans’ takes and opinions. Whether you agree or not you should always listen to others’ thoughts. So let’s enjoy the 2025-2026 NBA season by watching closely and simply enjoying basketball.