By Michael Samaha, columnist

The NBA is finally back.

A lot has happened since the San Antonio Spurs won their fifth championship back in June. I have been following the NBA closely for about a dozen years, and I can never remember the amount of questions, hype and anticipation leading up to a season as there has been for 2014-15. There will be a storyline to pay attention to almost every night between now and the Finals, where another champion will be crowned.

The biggest storyline of this season involves the world’s best basketball player: LeBron James. James decided to leave the Miami Heat after four years, four Finals appearances and two championships. He has returned to his original team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The big story has been that this is his “return home,” but let’s not overlook the real story. LeBron made a number of smart basketball decisions in the move:  he is joining a team with a good nucleus of young talent, including All-Star Kyrie Irving, he helped the Cavs obtain another marquee player, All-Pro forward Kevin Love and he left a team whose title window was closing. LeBron is downplaying the idea of the Cavs being a title contender this season, as to not add extra pressure to a team whose other two stars, Irving and Love, have never even played a game in the playoffs. LeBron knows that the playoffs are a different animal compared to the regular season, and that it will take a season or two to really gel as a team like the top title contenders.

Other title contending teams have their own issues to deal with, such as the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Chicago Bulls. The Thunder were hoping the 2014-2015 season would finally be the one in which they got over the hump and won the title. Their path was made much tougher when reigning league MVP Kevin Durant had surgery on his right foot to repair a Jones fracture, an injury that could cause him to miss the first quarter of the regular season. The Thunder were hoping to use this time to allow fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook to take over the team and showcase his talents without competition for the spotlight, but this plan also took a hit as Westbrook’s recent hand surgery will keep him out 4-6 weeks. These injuries could really affect the team’s playoff seeding and ability to work out the kinks with the new role players.

The Bulls retooled this offseason by bringing in two-time champion Pau Gasol to an already solid basketball team. The Bulls are hoping former MVP Derrick Rose finally has a healthy season. After missing the majority of the last two seasons due to knee injuries, Rose will be able to get back out and make the Bulls his team again. For his team to contend, Rose won’t even have to return to MVP form. The Bulls play so well defensively, that even a Derrick Rose in close to All-Star form could be enough to lead this team to its first Finals since Michael Jordan won his last title in 1998.

The NBA stories don’t end with all of these elite teams. Kobe Bryant returns after missing most of last season due to a knee injury sustained in December. His Lakers may struggle, but it will be fun to watch Kobe put on vintage scoring performances every game. The Miami Heat added a couple talented players in place of LeBron James, and it will be interesting to see if they can still compete in the Eastern Conference, or if they will sink to the bottom of the league.

My personal favorite storyline to follow will be all the young teams. These teams will struggle, most likely for the whole season, but there are so many promising young players. Watching them grow slowly throughout the season will be something to keep an eye on. Whether it’s the big name rookies like Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins, the supreme athletes like Zack LaVine and Aaron Gordon, the more unknown names like Giannis Antetokounmpo or young superstar Anthony Davis, there will be someone to pay attention to every night.

Whether you are invested in how the stories play out over the entire season or you just like watching fun, fast-paced and high-powered offenses, there will be something to watch in the NBA all season. Basketball, unlike football, can be found almost every night on national TV or NBATV, so be sure to catch as much of it as possible.

-Michael Samaha can be reached at [email protected].