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The NBA regular season starts one week from today, which makes this a perfect time to preview some individual-player storylines.

Which unexpected players could contend for the Most Valuable Player award? Who has the most to prove? And who is poised for a comeback?

Looking ahead to the season, The Athletic has assembled three of its NBA writers: William Guillory , who covers the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans; Law Murray , who is based in Los Angeles and writes a weekly Power Rankings column and our annual Player Tiers column; and Josh Robbins , who covers the Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards and the league as

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