The NBA schedule was unveiled on Thursday, revealing that the Boston Celtics will receive their championship rings on October 22, with their longtime rivals, the New York Knicks, present for the ceremony. The season opener will see the Celtics host the Knicks, marking the occasion with the raising of their 18th championship banner.
Following this, the Minnesota Timberwolves will face the Los Angeles Lakers, setting up a clash between Olympic gold medalists Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis.
The league announced 1,200 of the 1,230 games scheduled for the season, with the remaining 30 games to be determined in December, based on the outcomes of the NBA Cup. Notably, Klay Thompson’s return to Golden State as a Dallas Maverick is among the highlights of the tournament schedule.
Some previously announced games include Miami vs. Washington in Mexico City on November 2, and the San Antonio Spurs vs. Indiana Pacers in Paris, featuring Spurs star and French native Victor Wembanyama, on January 23 and 25.
A closer look at the rest of the schedule reveals:
– The Christmas Day lineup begins with Wembanyama and the Spurs visiting New York, followed by Minnesota at Dallas, Philadelphia at Boston, the Lakers at Golden State, and Denver at Phoenix. This marks the Spurs’ first Christmas game since 2016 and the Timberwolves’ since 2017. For the first time in seven seasons, Milwaukee will not be playing on Christmas.
– There will be four nights this season where all 30 teams are in action, starting with November 4, with games starting every 15 minutes from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EST. The other dates are February 12, April 11 (the second-to-last day of the regular season), and April 13 (the last day of the regular season).
– For the third consecutive year, there will be no NBA games on Election Day, November 5, to encourage civic engagement. The league will also observe other days off, including Thanksgiving (November 28), Christmas Eve (December 24), and a break following All-Star weekend from February 17-19.
– The NBA will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 20 with seven games, including a matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks in New York.
– The schedule also includes two games in Austin, Texas, where Kevin Durant will return to his college home as the Phoenix Suns face the Spurs and Detroit Pistons on February 20 and 21.
– This season will be LeBron James’ 22nd in the NBA, tying the longevity record with Vince Carter. James, who turns 40 on December 30, will have the day off.
– The Intuit Dome, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers, will host its first official game on October 23, with the Clippers taking on the Phoenix Suns.
– On February 9, the day of the Super Bowl, the NBA will wrap up its games early, with three matchups scheduled to finish before the NFL’s championship game kickoff.
– The Boston Celtics will face the Dallas Mavericks on January 25 in the first rematch of last season’s NBA Finals, with a return game in Boston on February 6.
– The games featuring the most recent No. 1 draft picks, Victor Wembanyama from San Antonio and Zaccharie Risacher from Atlanta, will be nationally televised on December 19 and February 5.
– While it’s traditionally been an off day, this season the NBA will have games on the day of the NCAA men’s basketball championship, with Sacramento at Detroit and Philadelphia at Miami on April 7.
– The season will end on April 13, with all 30 teams playing on the final day. Each game will start at either 1 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. EDT, with intra-conference matchups, except for Toronto visiting San Antonio.
– The NBA Finals will begin on June 5, following a typical schedule, with potential Game 7 set for June 22.
