On Oct. 19, the NBA season officially began, sparking plenty of excitement from sports fans as the league has no obvious superior team as of now.

Teams with high aspirations include the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and more. Along with teams playing at a high caliber, there are star players returning from injuries that kept them out last year. 

Players such as Kawhi Leonard, Zion Williamson, Jamal Murray, Ben Simmons, Damian Lillard and Michael Porter Jr. are set to elevate their teams after not being available last year.  

There were many interesting and surprising storylines coming out of the offseason such as former Utah Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert being traded, Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Meanwhile, Lakers superstar LeBron James also returns for his 20th season in the league attempting to surpass Kareem Abdul Jabbar as the highest scorer in NBA history.  

There has been a lot of hope around Los Angeles for both the Clippers and the Lakers during the offseason since the Clippers gained notable forward Kawhi Leonard returning from injury and added star point guard John Wall. 

Their rival, the Lakers, have their three superstars LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook who were on the team last year, but their season was interrupted by injury and by the team not being acclimated to playing with each other. 

As of Nov. 8, the Clippers are 6-5 and the Lakers are second to last in the Western Conference at a 2-8 record. 

 “The Lakers season is like getting something new and not being able to return it since it has been past 30 days since you bought it,” freshman Grant Burrell said. 

A few teams that have emerged as impressive contenders are the Clevland Cavaliers as new arrival shooting guard Donovan Mitchell has been deemed MVP-worthy. 

 Teams that have gotten off to dissapointing starts after deep playoff runs last year are the Miami Heat and defending champion Golden State Warriors. 

Miami is experiencing a less than ideal start, contrasting last season when the team was one game away from an NBA finals appearance. Although their record is not great, there is plenty of season left to turn it around. 

In the Western Conference, the defending champion Golden State Warriors have gotten off to a dissapointing start as well. Even with exceptional play by Steph Curry, the Warriors haven’t been able to pull away wins.