NBA unveils full 2025-26 schedule
The NBA dropped its complete schedule Thursday for the 2025-26 regular season, which tips off Oct. 21 and runs through April 12.
A doubleheader on NBC, airing its first NBA games since the 2002 Finals, will serve as the curtain-raiser. The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Houston Rockets, now featuring former Thunder star Kevin Durant, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Los Angeles Lakers will then host Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors at 10 p.m. ET.
After beginning in mid-November last season, this year's NBA Cup action starts on Halloween. The final is scheduled for Dec. 16 in Las Vegas, only one day earlier than the 2024 event.
A rematch of the 2025 Finals between the Thunder and Indiana Pacers is set for Oct. 23, which will also be Indiana's season opener. However, the Pacers will look much different with Tyrese Haliburton still recovering from his Achilles tear and Myles Turner now on the Milwaukee Bucks. Turner will return to Indiana on Nov. 3.
Luka Doncic will make his second appearance in Dallas since his stunning trade this past February when the Lakers visit the Mavericks on Jan. 24.
The Christmas Day schedule includes a 2024 Western Conference semifinals rematch between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, the Lakers hosting the Rockets, and the Cleveland Cavaliers visiting the New York Knicks.