Two of the most important days of the yr within the NBA common season are opening evening and Christmas Day, and Friday we realized the matchups we are going to see on each nights, courtesy of ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Opening evening schedule
The NBA will ship the new-look Rockets, that includes Kevin Durant, to Oklahoma Metropolis for ring evening to open the season on October 21, after which end the evening off with yet one more opening evening tilt between LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
All 4 of these groups may even take part within the Christmas Day festivities, together with six different groups that get the distinction of enjoying on the NBA’s greatest day.
Christmas Day schedule
The Knicks and Cavs matchup (presumably within the midday ET timeslot the Knicks host yearly) would be the solely sport that includes Japanese Convention groups. That is not a shock given the accidents to high groups within the East, however is a illustration of how tilted the steadiness of energy is — at the least on paper — for the 2025-26 season.
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Victor Wembanyama as soon as once more will get a Christmas Day slot, this yr towards the reigning champs in OKC, whereas the Rockets will go to the Lakers. Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis and the Mavs will head to the Bay to face Golden State, and Anthony Edwards and Nikola Jokic will face off in Denver in what figures to be the nightcap.
The most important absence from the Christmas schedule is Boston, because the Celtics have performed on Christmas Day yearly since 2016, however have been dropped this yr with Jayson Tatum’s Achilles damage costing him subsequent season and after buying and selling away Jrue Vacation and Kristaps Porzingis for what seems to be a niche yr plan. In a traditional yr, the Pacers would’ve been a lock after making it to the Finals, however they too have been handed over with Tyrese Haliburton additionally out for the season with an Achilles damage.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns have additionally been regulars on Christmas, however with the Suns buying and selling away Kevin Durant and the Sixers’ accidents and struggles final yr, they have been dropped from the league’s greatest slate. The newcomers to the Christmas schedule who did not play in 2024 are the Rockets, Thunder and Cavaliers — OKC lacking out on a Christmas sport final yr was most likely the most important miss by the league.
Whereas it’s West heavy, it is a robust slate of video games on paper and contains a good combination of rising stars and the veterans who’ve been carrying the torch for many years. We’ll get the official schedule bulletins for all 82 video games quickly sufficient, however for now followers can begin waiting for two of the most important days on the common season schedule.
Marc Stein additionally introduced phrase of two notable Mavs video games, with Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper, the No. 1 and No. 2 total picks within the draft, assembly in Dallas on Oct. 22 for opening evening, whereas the primary sport between the Mavs and former star Luka Dončić and the Lakers shall be on the finish of November as a part of the NBA Cup portion of the schedule.
