We are just over two months away from the start of the 2024-25 NBA season, and now that the Olympics have ended with Team USA’s thrilling run to a gold medal, the attention of the men’s basketball world has shifted its focus to the first day of the new season, October 22.
The NBA’s schedule release is expected to come in the next week or two, but games on key dates are starting to leak out. We already got the Christmas slate, which features the expected big teams and star names, with the biggest surprise being the NBA already putting Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs on the Christmas schedule in place of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bucks, who have been Christmas standbys for years. Aside from Christmas, the two other marquee dates on the schedule are opening night and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
On Monday, Shams Charania brought word of the four teams that will play the opening night doubleheader on TNT, with the Boston Celtics being the only team we knew for sure would be playing on October 22 to get their championship rings. Per Shams, it will be the Knicks traveling to Boston for the opener, while the Minnesota Timberwolves will start their season in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
It’s not a real surprise that the league would put LeBron James and company on the opening night schedule, but to not have either of the opening games be playoff rematches of any kind seems a bit unusual. That said, the Knicks are now expected to be one of the top contenders to Boston in the East after adding Mikal Bridges, and the Wolves have cemented themselves as a top contender in the West with a star in Anthony Edwards the league is happy to put on the marquee alongside LeBron for opening night.
As for when we’ll get our NBA Finals rematches, Charania reports they’ll come in a two-week window before the All-Star break, with the Celtics going to Dallas on January 25 and the Mavs going to Boston on February 6 (which is also the trade deadline).