The complete schedule for the 2023-24 NBA regular season was unveiled on Thursday. Due to the in-season tournament, each team will play 80 games out of 82, with the remaining two games to be determined by their performance in the tournament and announced in December.
Notwithstanding, the schedule for opening night, Christmas Day, and the in-season tournament, as well as important dates throughout the season, have been finalized. The season will commence on October 24 and conclude on April 14, with the All-Star break scheduled for February 16-18. The in-season tournament will take place from November 3 to December 9.
Early highlights from the schedule include:
Opening night
- The reigning champions will receive their rings and then face the Denver Nuggets in a rematch of the 2023 Western Conference finals. Denver had swept the Lakers in that series, and LeBron James and Anthony Davis remarked that the Nuggets were likely the toughest team they had faced in their four years playing together.
- The game between the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors will mark Chris Paul’s first meeting with the Suns since being traded to Golden State. Additionally, it will be Kevin Durant’s first game at Chase Center with fans in attendance. The arena opened after Durant left Golden State, and he has been absent from his visits due to injury, except for a game on February 13, 2021, which was played without fans due to pandemic restrictions.
Christmas Day
- In a Christmas Day matchup, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics will face each other for the first time since 2008. This will also mark the Warriors’ 11th consecutive year playing on Christmas, and LeBron James’ 17th consecutive year playing on the holiday. Last year, James became the first player in NBA history to play in 17 Christmas Day games.
- The games scheduled for Christmas Day are: Milwaukee Bucks at New York Knicks (12 p.m. ET on ESPN), Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets (2:30 p.m. ET on ABC), Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers (5 p.m. ET on ABC), Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat (8 p.m. ET on ESPN), and Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns (10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).
In-season tournament
- The first-ever in-season tournament will begin on November 3 with the first of seven tournament nights. The group stage will continue on November 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, and 28 (every Tuesday and Friday that month, except for November 7, which is Election Day).
- The schedule features matchups such as Mavericks vs. Nuggets, Lakers vs. Suns, Heat vs. Knicks, Bucks vs. Heat, Warriors vs. Kings, among others.
- The tournament will have six group winners and two wild cards advance to the knockout stage. The quarterfinals will be played on December 4 and 5, with the higher-seeded team having home-court advantage. The four winners will then proceed to Las Vegas, where the semifinals will take place on December 7, followed by the championship game on December 9.
