Los Angeles will be crowded in 2025-26 with the championship aspirations of both the Lakers and Clippers.
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The NBA’s schedule release in recent years has gone from a day to what feels like a week. What with Opening Night games, the Christmas Day slate, key Emirates NBA Cup Group Play showdowns and the matchups lined up for the Martin Luther King holiday already announced – strategically, for maximum marketing impact – it’s starting to feel like the “12 Days of Christmas.”
There remained plenty of presents under the tree for Thursday’s official release (not that the NBA needs more lords a-leaping). Only 29 of the 1,231 regular-season games (counting the NBA Cup championship, Game 83 for the two participating teams) were unveiled earlier this week.
So here are eight from the fresh slate, ones that offer intriguing matchups, established – or budding! – rivalries, as well as some with news angles for added interest. Don’t miss these:
Thunder at Lakers | Monday, Feb. 8 (Peacock; 10 ET)
OKC is where the Lakers don’t just want to be, it is where the Lakers annually expect to be – opening a season as defending NBA champions. It’s never too early to gauge oneself against the best, and we need to savor every LeBron-Luka vs. SGA & Co. clash we can get. After all, we haven’t seen these teams battle in the postseason since way back in 2012.
Thunder at Nuggets | Sunday, Feb. 1 (Peacock/NBC; 9:30 ET)
When last we saw these two Western powerhouses on the same court, it was a tense situation (Game 7, conference semifinals) that unraveled in short order. The Nuggets got smoked, being outscored 109-67 despite leading by 10 well into the first quarter of an eventual 32-point loss. Denver feels it has fortified itself around perennial Kia MVP candidate Nikola Jokić with Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., Cam Johnson and Jonas Valunčiūnas, enough new help to narrow the gap between the teams.
Lakers at Mavericks | Saturday, January 24 (ABC; 8:30 ET)
It’s surprising that this matchup wasn’t booked for opening week, Christmas Day or at least the MLK lineup. Has the NBA world moved on that quickly from the shocking February trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Lakers for Anthony Davis? Of course not. Dallas fans were beside themselves over the deal until lottery luck delivered Cooper Flagg. New Luka facing his old team hasn’t gotten old yet.
Hawks at Knicks | Friday, Jan. 2 (Prime Video; 7:30 ET)
It’s one thing when these teams face each other down in Atlanta, quite another when Trae Young and his mates hit Madison Square Garden. Prior to Haliburton antagonizing the Knicks and their fans in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Young was the nemesis who drew comparisons to Reggie Miller. The new cold-blooded pest acted as if he wanted to beat everyone in the building, not just the New York team. The Hawks had a busy offseason and have notions of replacing the Knicks as the little engine that can.
Timberwolves at Thunder | Wednesday, Nov. 26 (ESPN; 7:30 ET)
With a young, cap-friendly roster and reservoir of draft picks, OKC would seem to have what it takes to run the West for the years to come. But Anthony Edwards and the Wolves’ ambitions to win a championship ring await. Several key Minnesota Timberwolves are further along in their careers, and they’re not inclined to wait out the Thunder. After two consecutive trips to the West finals, it’s either fall back or bust through that door for the Wolves.
Lakers at Clippers | Saturday, Dec. 20 (League Pass; 10:30 ET)
Rarely in their 42 years of sharing Los Angeles have the Lakers and Clippers had designs on high playoff seeds and long runs in the same postseason. But they both see themselves as top West ring chasers. The Lakers are the Lakers, with, by all reports, an insanely motivated Dončić and with a still-robust LeBron James raging against the dying of his hoops light. The Clippers are deeper than ever, adding Chris Paul, Bradley Beal and Brook Lopez to a team that won as many games as its L.A. cousin (50) and wields a far superior defense.
Magic at Pistons | Wednesday, Oct. 29 (League Pass; 7 ET)
Who’s got next in the East? Both these franchises believe, given the Celtics, Pacers and Bucks are presumably taking steps backward. The Magic seemed ready to make a move a year ago before injuries stymied them and any reliable offensive flow. Defensively, they are on par with title contenders, so coach Jamahl Mosley needs to orchestrate a reverse-Indiana move, shifting emphasis while Franz Wagner re-calibrates his shooting eye. The Pistons tripled their victory total year-over-year, with a deep, maturing roster and MVP candidate Cade Cunningham as the leader.
Spurs at Rockets | Tuesday, Jan. 20 (Peacock/NBC; 8 ET)
The Texas triangle is in revival, perhaps headed to the days when all three – San Antonio, Houston and Dallas – would win 50+ games (they averaged 59 in 2006-07, for instance). That made life hellish for foes hitting all three stops on long road trips. Since we can’t book all three on one court, we’ll go with this one between the ready Rockets and saucy Spurs.
Bonus: 2026 All-Star Game, Sunday, Feb. 15 (NBC)
A must-watch game? This exhibition has been a yawner for a decade and an embarrassment at times, devoid of both defense and intensity from the league’s biggest names on its grandest in-season stage. NBA TV’s “Hardwood Classics” screenings of old-school All-Star Games reveal true competitive basketball, built on rivalries and a love of the game. If a possible U.S. vs. World format restores that, this 75th edition can cure a lot of what ails the ASG.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.