Although NBA action is still months away, the league has released its full schedule for the 2024-25 season.
The regular season begins on October 22 when the defending champion Boston Celtics host the New York Knicks at 7:30pm ET on TNT. Olympic teammates LeBron James and Anthony Edwards clash in the evening
11 nationally televised games will be part of the first five days of the 2024-25 regular season @Kia NBA Tip-off 2024, with two doubleheaders each @NBAonTNT And @ESPNNBA And a tripleheader @NBATV.
National TV schedule for opening week ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/t4NZb9lmBs
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 15, 2024
The next day, October. 23, boasting a strong 10-game slate highlighted by a showdown of MVPs when Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks take on Joel Embiid and the 76ers in Philadelphia at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. The Phoenix Suns and LA Clippers will then make history in the first game at the new Intuit Dome on ESPN at 10 pm ET.
Games will be nationally televised on ESPN or TNT on five of the first seven days of the NBA season.
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Here’s how the 82-game schedule breaks down for each team:
- Two games each against non-conference teams (30 games)
- Four games each against division opponents (16 games)
- Three or four games each against in-conference opponents (36 games spread over 10 opponents)
Notable games
- Hawks vs. Wizards (Oct. 28, 30): Two of the top draft picks get a baseball streak in Week 1. How about Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr?
- Mavericks vs. Warriors (Nov. 12): Klay Thompson returns to the Bay Area for the first time since the summer break. Emotions run high.
- 76ers vs. Nuggets (Jan. 21): Will Embiid finally play in Denver? He hasn’t played there since 2019, and he was scratched late last season before the teams met.
- Celtics vs. Mavericks (January 25): NBA Finals Rematch. Dallas gets its first chance at revenge this season.
Why do national games mean so much?
National games are where the NBA and its broadcast partners try to bring in more viewers by highlighting the teams they believe are the best fit for the season and the stars they think will bring the most attention. Those are good indicators of who the league and those networks think is important this season.
The league will open its season with the Celtics getting their championship rings at home against the Knicks, matching two historic franchises. Then the Lakers host the Timberwolves, as the NBA pits James against a rising young star.
The San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembayama won just 22 games last season but were on national television 13 times. Boston will be broadcast 26 times on national television. The Lakers will be there 29 times and the Knicks 24 times on national television. – Mike Workunov, NBA business writer
In-season competitive differences
For starters, it’s called the NBA Cup. Last season it was held every Tuesday and Friday night in November, but this year’s NBA Cup qualifiers don’t start until November 12, with group play on the same days until December 3. The finals will be held on December 17 in Las Vegas.
Because of the NBA Cup, the NBA has only scheduled 80 games for each team, a reminder that the other two games are TBD after the teams complete their tournament schedules. Dec. From 10 to 16, those games will be played based on how the group play goes. – Vorkunov
Christmas day
The NBA released its five marquee games on the most important day of the season.
The day begins with a trip to Vembanyama and the Spurs at Madison Square Garden. New York has always been the league’s Christmas catnip, but now it’s connecting its biggest market with a rising superstar. The Celtics against the Sixers is a classic matchup.
Putting Los Angeles and the Warriors against each other on Christmas is basically copy and paste programming. Two teams may be fighting for a playoff spot, and it’s Steph Curry versus James. It would have been interesting to see the Wolves and Nuggets face off this spring after a best-of seven-game series, but the NBA split that matchup.
Edwards earns daytime spot against Luka Doncic and Mavericks; Nikola Jokic is the final act of the five-game schedule.
It’s worth considering that the NBA will have the tournament back on its marquee day. The NFL is sticking two games on Christmas this year, even if it’s on a Wednesday. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will face the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 p.m., starting an hour after Wembley takes on Manhattan.
The Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans — the reigning NFL MVP and one of its up-and-coming teams — play at 4:30 p.m. ET. If there’s any consolation for the NBA, it’s that primetime is not tied and NFL games are on Netflix and not televised.
Whether that helps ratings remains to be seen — Netflix is huge, you’ve probably heard. – Vorkunov
Home from home
Spurs will play three home games this season. They will play their first two games after the All-Star break in Austin (against the Suns and Pistons), and one of their two games against the Pacers in Paris will be considered a home game. – Vorkunov
This season is how it was until years ago
This season, teams will average 14.9 back-to-back games, one more per team than last season, but still 4.4 back-to-back games less than a decade ago, according to the NBA.
Teams average five non-travel games this season and 9.8 back-to-back games with travel.
The NBA tried to avoid having teams play certain games. Teams playing on Christmas Day, Saturday night games on ABC and two TNT games on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, for example, will not play the day before or after those games. The NBA does not schedule teams on ABC for Sunday afternoon games or the second game of back-to-back NBA Cup games.
34 nationally televised games, featuring teams in a back-to-back. – Vorkunov
Required reading
(Photo: Jesse D. Garabrand / NBAE via Getty Images)
