NBA Key Dates and Regular Season Schedules

The return to the original 82-game regular season will tip-off on October 19th with marquee matchups between the Brooklyn Nets and reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster flipped squad facing Golden State.

Last season after a brutal 72-game year, the season was packed with injuries and fatigue. Now returned to normalcy, teams have time to boost chemistry with less expected missed action and healthier rosters. The Brooklyn Nets had just 7 games with all of the Big 3 performing last year. With quality moves in adding Patty Mills and re-signing Blake Griffin, Brooklyn is one of favorites to win it all.

NBA’s 75th Anniversary Matchups:

• The Knicks host the Raptors on November 1st — exactly 75 years to the day after New York visited the Toronto Huskies in the first game of the Basketball Association of America’s inaugural season.
• The Celtics, Knicks, and Warriors will all matchup in mid-December. All 3 franchises are the only to have been apart of all 75 NBA seasons.

Notable Reunion Games:

• Lonzo Ball return to New Orleans on March 24th, 2021
• Kevin Durant return to Golden State with a crowd in attendance on January 29th, 2021
• Former Mavericks Head Coach returns to Dallas on January 29th, 2021 with Indiana
• Kyle Lowry return to Toronto on February 3rd, 2021
• Kyle Kuzma return to Los Angeles on March 11, 2021

Christmas:

The NBA will host a 5 game slate of Christmas Day for the 14th year straight with ESPN or ABC televising each matchup. It will also be the Lakers’ 23rd consecutive Christmas appearance. Phoenix Suns enter their first December 25th game since 2009 and the Hawks play on the holiday for first time since 1989. The NBA has no games scheduled for Thanksgiving (Nov. 25) or Christmas Eve (Dec. 24)

• Hawks-Knicks, 12:00 PM ET on ESPN
• Bucks-Celtics, 2:30 PM ET on ABC
• Suns-Warriors, 5:00 PM ET on ABC
• Nets-Lakers, 8:00 PM ET on both ABC and ESPN
• Mavericks-Jazz, 10:30 PM on ESPN

MLK Day:

The NBA will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day featuring 12 games on January 17th.

• New Orleans at Boston
• Charlotte Hornets at New York
• Philadelphia at Washington
• Brooklyn at Cleveland
• Chicago at Memphis
• Indiana at Los Angeles (Clippers)
• Milwaukee at Atlanta
• Portland at Orlando
• Toronto at Miami
• Oklahoma City at Dallas
• Phoenix at San Antonio
• Utah at Los Angeles (Lakers)

Key Dates:

• Oct. 19: First Day of Season
• Feb. 18-20: All-Star Weekend
• April 10: Regular Season Ends
• April 12-15: Play-In Tournament
• April 16: Playoffs Begin

Notes:

• Lakers (42), Warriors (41) and Nets (38) lead the NBA in nationally televised games (ABC, ESPN, TNT, NBATV)
• NBA travel this season has been reduced to an estimated 43,000 miles, down from 46,000 miles in 2019-20 (the most recent season with 82 games).
• Rockets have 13 sets of back-to-back games this season.
• Rockets play consecutive games against the Lakers in LA, beginning on Halloween.
• Jalen Green and Cade Cunningham matchup against each other on December 18th.

Finals Rematch:

The Bucks who defeated the Suns in 6 games during the NBA Finals will rematch on February 10th in Phoenix followed by March 6th when Milwaukee will host the 2nd contest.

Down Below you can find each 82-game schedule for all 30 teams in the league:

Atlantic: Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Toronto Raptors

Central: Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, and Milwaukee Bucks

Southeast: Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and Washington Wizards

Southwest: Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, and San Antonio Spurs

Northwest: Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Utah Jazz

Pacific: Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings