Maybe you spent the summer outside. Maybe you watched the WNBA, and good for you. Either way, the NBA season tips off Tuesday, and a lot has changed. Here's the stuff you'd want to know before your group chat starts talking about it.

The big guy everyone is scared of

Every year, NBA.com asks the league's general managers (the people who build the teams) to make predictions. This year, they basically wrote a fan letter to Victor Wembanyama. The 7-foot-4 French center got 77% of the votes to win MVP. When GMs were asked which player they would pick if they were starting a team from scratch, 93% picked Wemby.

His team, the San Antonio Spurs, won 62 games last season and made a surprise run to the NBA Finals. The GMs picked them to win the title, though only 50% voted that way. The 2025 champion Oklahoma City Thunder came in a close second.

The fun part: the Spurs plan to start three guards at once, De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, alongside Wembanyama. Harper was the No. 2 pick in 2025, and the GMs voted him the player most likely to break out this year. Wemby loves the setup. "When it clicked, it clicked," he said after trying it in the preseason. "The biggest thing is I've got handlers all around me."

The champs, and the team that went shopping

The New York Knicks are the defending champions, and the GMs picked them to win the East again. Their first opponent is the Philadelphia 76ers, who had the busiest summer in the league. The GMs voted Philly's offseason moves the best in the league after it added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. Both will make their Sixers debuts in New York on Tuesday.

Players moved all over the league this summer. The Miami Heat traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and GMs voted it the acquisition that will make the biggest impact. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum and Paul George lead what the NBA calls a "new-look" Boston Celtics team.

Who's hurt (health first)

Jimmy Butler of the Golden State Warriors is still working his way back from a right knee ACL injury he suffered last season. (The ACL is a key ligament in the knee, and coming back from it takes a while.) Coach Steve Kerr says Butler should return "around February" and calls it "the exact opposite of last season," when Butler got hurt in February. Until then, Steph Curry and the Warriors have to hold things together.

The No. 1 overall pick, AJ Dybantsa of the Washington Wizards, left his final preseason game with what his coach called a mild ankle sprain. His coach said sitting him the rest of the game was mostly a precaution. Fingers crossed he's ready for Wednesday.

The off-court cliffhanger

The NBA is planning to add teams, and Las Vegas looks like a sure thing. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reports a decision on the Vegas bid could come within weeks. Seattle fans hoping for the return of the SuperSonics will have to wait. According to Windhorst, commissioner Adam Silver left team owners with the impression that a Seattle team is no longer a lock. Silver even floated Mexico City as another option.

What's next

All times are Mountain. Tuesday: Celtics at Pistons at 1 p.m. (Detroit was the top seed in the East last year), then 76ers at Knicks at 5 p.m., then Thunder at Spurs at 7:30 p.m. All three are on NBC and Peacock. Wednesday: Bucks at Wizards at 5 p.m. and Warriors at Lakers at 8 p.m. on ESPN. Grab snacks. It's a long season, and it starts now.