BASKETBALL: Rockets-Thunder, Warriors-Lakers To Open NBA Season

By Emmanuel Chibuzor Orji - Topstriker, Sports Editor

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Aug. 13, 2025, 8:25 a.m.

The opening night of the 2025-26 NBA season will feature the Houston Rockets at the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors at the Los Angeles Lakers. The games will be played on October 21 and will be televised on NBC. ESPN will tip off its coverage with two opening week doubleheaders. On Oct. 22, the Cleveland Cavaliers will visit the New York Knicks (7 p.m. ET), and Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks will host the San Antonio Spurs (9:30 p.m. ET). The following night, Oct. 23, the Thunder will visit the Pacers in an NBA Finals rematch (7:30 p.m. ET), while the Denver Nuggets will visit the Warriors (10 p.m. ET). Additionally, there will be five games on ABC/ESPN on Christmas. They are: * Cavaliers at Knicks (noon ET) * Spurs at Thunder (2:30 p.m. ET) * Rockets at Lakers (5 p.m. ET) * Mavericks at Warriors (8 p.m. ET) * Minnesota Timberwolves at Nuggets (10:30 p.m. ET) The Knicks will be playing their 58th Christmas game, extending their NBA record. The first Christmas game in league history was at Madison Square Garden in 1947. The Cavaliers and Thunder are playing on Christmas for the first time since 2018, and the Rockets' game on the holiday will be their first since 2019. Lakers star LeBron James, if he plays, will be making his 20th Christmas appearance in his record 23rd NBA season. Only 12 NBA franchises have 20 Christmas games, and James could soon have that many as a player. And it'll be a big NBA holiday in Texas: All three of the state's teams are playing on Christmas for the first time. The Martin Luther King Jr. Day Lineup on Jan. 19 Features Four Games: * Milwaukee Bucks at Atlanta Hawks * Thunder at Cavaliers * Mavericks at Knicks * Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons Memphis, which typically plays on the holiday, is not this season. The Grizzlies will be returning from Europe, after facing Orlando on Jan. 15 in Berlin and Jan. 18 in London. Some NBA Cup games are scheduled to be released Wednesday, and the full schedule -- 80 of the 82 games for all teams -- is to be released Thursday. The remaining two games for each club will be filled in December based on how teams fare in the NBA Cup.

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