Boston Celtics will be presented with their championship rings on October 22nd, with their rival team, the New York Knicks, attending the celebratory event.
The NBA schedule for the upcoming season was released on Thursday, with the Celtics set to host the Knicks on opening night. This will be the night where the NBA champions unveil their 18th championship banner, making it a memorable occasion.
Another notable game on opening night is between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers. This matchup brings together Olympic gold medalists such as Anthony Edwards from the Timberwolves and LeBron James along with Anthony Davis from the Lakers.
The league has currently released 1,200 out of the total 1,230 games scheduled. The remaining 30 games, which depend on the teams’ performance during the NBA Cup, will be filled in later, most likely in December. Earlier this week, the schedule for the tournament games was announced, featuring exciting matches like Klay Thompson’s return to Golden State as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.
Several regular-season contests have already been revealed. Notably, Miami Heat and Washington Wizards will be playing in Mexico City on November 2nd, while San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers will face each other in a home-and-home series in Paris on January 23rd and 25th, showcasing French native Victor Wembanyama as the main attraction.
Other scheduled off days for the NBA season include November 28th (Thanksgiving), December 24th (Christmas Eve), February 17th-19th (All-Star weekend break starting on February 14th), and April 12th. Additionally, there may be one more off day in December, depending on the scheduling of teams that do not make it to the NBA Cup semifinals.
In the upcoming season, the San Antonio Spurs will play two games in Austin, Texas: on February 20th against the Phoenix Suns, followed by a game on February 21st against the Detroit Pistons.
Klay Thompson, who had a remarkable college career at Texas, will celebrate his 40th birthday with a day off from playing.
The Los Angeles Lakers will have a day off on December 30th. Before that, they will face the Sacramento Kings on December 28th (which was their first NBA opponent when LeBron James was just 18 years old) and then continue playing with a home game on December 31st against the Cleveland Cavaliers (which was LeBron James’ first NBA team).
Since the 1999-2000 season, the Clippers have shared an arena with the Los Angeles Lakers. It was not uncommon for both teams to play home games on the same day, with one team playing in the afternoon and the other team playing at night after the court was changed and the arena was quickly cleaned.
On February 9th, the day of the NFL’s title game, there will be three NBA games: Charlotte Hornets vs. Detroit Pistons at 1 p.m., Toronto Raptors vs. Houston Rockets at 2 p.m., and Philadelphia 76ers vs. Milwaukee Bucks at 2 p.m.
Both Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama, mentioned earlier, are natives of France.
If the schedule follows recent years’ patterns, Game 2 is expected to take place on June 8th, followed by Game 3 on June 11th, Game 4 on June 13th, Game 5 on June 16th, Game 6 on June 19th, and in case needed, Game 7 on June 22nd.