The schedule for the NBA's 75th regular season is starting to take shape, with the league unveiling both its opening week U.S. national games and Christmas Day schedules on Tuesday.
The season will open with two games on Oct. 19.
First, the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks will host Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets, picking up where their series last playoffs ended. Widely heralded as a masterpiece, the Bucks and Nets traded heavy-weight blows for seven games, culminating in a remarkable final match that was an inch away from belonging to Brooklyn.
That will be followed by Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors visiting LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. James and Curry are no strangers to duelling on the NBA's biggest stages, facing off in the NBA Finals in four straight seasons. With both future Hall of Famers now in the same conference, such a clash won't take place this year. But a retooled Lakers team facing off against a finally healthy Warriors squad will kick off the 2021-22 season with no shortage of high-profile star power.
Other nationally broadcast games scheduled during the first week of the regular season include:
Oct. 20: Boston Celtics at New York Knicks
Oct. 20: Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns
Oct. 21: Dallas Mavericks at Atlanta Hawks
Oct. 21: LA Clippers at Golden State Warriors
Oct. 22: Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia 76ers
Oct. 22: Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers
Christmas Day
The NBA will once again showcase some of its premier talents on Christmas Day with five games, beginning at noon ET.
Always a point of debate as to who was included and who was omitted, the matchups this year are:
Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks
Another playoff rematch in the league's initial scheduling announcements, the Hawks and Knicks are far from strangers. Last season, the two clubs squared off in a five-game series that saw the Hawks oust the Knicks from their long-awaited return to the post-season.
Trae Young drew the ire of New York not just for his stellar on-court performances, but for his willingness to antagonize and taunt the Madison Square Garden crowd, positioning this matchup as a moment to deepen the rivalry between these two teams.
Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks
Depending on how the start of the season pans out, Celtics-Bucks could prove to be another post-season preview.
With young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown leading the way, Boston has the chance to be a force in the East once again that Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks will have to reckon with.
Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns
Assuming both teams are healthy when December rolls around, few matchups boast the electric offensive potential of Suns-Warriors. Pitting Devin Booker, who became the youngest NBA player to ever score 60 points in a game en route to a 70-point masterpiece in 2017, against Curry, arguably the greatest shooter in NBA history, period, is an invitation for Christmas Day fireworks.
Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Lakers
This will mark the 15th straight Christmas Day game for James, and the first meeting between him and Durant since Christmas Day in 2018.
With both teams seen as contenders to make deep post-season runs, it could be a preview of the Finals, too -- one that features no shortage of former teammates going head-to-head. James and Kyrie Irving reached the NBA mountaintop together in Cleveland, while Durant and James Harden will face former Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook.
Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz
The Christmas Day slate will close with two of the NBA's brightest young stars, Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell. Utah, coming off a season in which they were the No. 1 seed in the West heading into the playoffs, will have plenty to prove in trying to get back to the top. Dallas will, too, as they look to push for a season that ends later than a first-round exit at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers -- their fate the last two years.
