The 2025-26 NBA season is officially here! The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock), as the defending champs look to start their season off strong against Kevin Durant and his new crew. 2025-26 NBA season preview What lies ahead for all 30 NBA teams in 2025-26? Here are the stars, stats and bets you need to know to get ready for the season. * Rankings, predictions, odds and more
The purpose of simulating the NBA season ahead of time is generally to see how often various things are likely to happen, from the weakest teams winning the draft lottery to the best ones taking home the Larry O'Brien Trophy. It can also be fun to go through individual runs of the simulation to give an idea of what unlikely events could become reality based on random chance.
Historically, Opening Night has not been kind to the Islanders. They're 14-26-11 all-time to start a season (.385 points percentage), including 11-20-8 on the road and just 3-6-4 at home. Only four teams - all Original Six franchises - have opened more seasons away from home. Over the last nine years, New York is 3-5-1, and just 6-12-4 in their last 22 openers.
