Defending champion Boston launches a quest for back-to-back titles, LeBron James teams with his 20-year-old son and familiar faces debut in new places when the NBA's 79th season begins on Tuesday.

Welp, we might as well dash those hopes now, even before the first of this season’s 1,230 games tips off. The Boston Celtics are the best team in the league, with the most continuity and the greatest potential – after winning 64 games last season – to improve from within.

Following a lively offseason, the NBA might actually be deeper than ever. Parity is running rampant in a league that is historically dominated by one or two teams. Winning back-to-back titles is a punishing task,

He has been on the short list of players in the running the last few seasons, but his well-rounded game and stacked team have both worked against him.

Not long after the Boston Celtics won the NBA title in 2008, some new wall decor went up at their practice facility in Waltham, Mass. It was a banner. An 18th one.