USA-August 12, 2025
Fans Eager for Key Matchups
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced that the full schedule for the highly anticipated 2025-26 regular season will be officially released on Thursday, August 14. This news, which comes after a series of high-profile game leaks, is stirring excitement among basketball fans worldwide as they await the complete roadmap for the 80th season of the league.
While the full slate of 82 games for each team will be revealed on Thursday, the league has already provided a glimpse of some of the most prominent matchups. The regular season is set to tip off on October 21, with the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, hosting the Houston Rockets in a marquee opening-night game. That same night, the long-standing rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors will be renewed as the Warriors travel to Los Angeles.
The release of the schedule on Thursday will also confirm the full lineup for the league’s celebrated Christmas Day games, a tradition that sees the NBA’s biggest stars take the court on the holiday. Preliminary reports have already indicated a Western Conference-heavy slate for Christmas Day, with four of the five games featuring teams from the West. The sole Eastern Conference matchup revealed so far will see the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
In addition to the regular season schedule, the announcement will provide details on the Emirates NBA Cup, the league’s popular in-season tournament, which is scheduled to run from October 31 to December 16. The schedule will also outline the dates for other key events, including the NBA All-Star Game, which is set to take place in Los Angeles from February 13-15, and the play-in tournament, which precedes the playoffs in April.
International basketball fans will also be paying close attention to Thursday’s release. The NBA has already scheduled several global games for the upcoming season, including matchups in Mexico City, Berlin, and London. The game in London, a battle between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic, is particularly noteworthy for British fans.
For teams like the Brooklyn Nets, who are in the midst of a rebuilding phase, the schedule release provides a crucial look at their path forward. Fans of the team are eager to see if their young and revamped roster will be featured in any of the national television broadcasts, as they look to build on their performance from the previous season.
As the countdown to Thursday begins, fans and analysts are already speculating about key dates and potential marquee matchups. The full schedule will not only detail the opponents and dates for all 30 teams but also shed light on travel demands, back-to-back games, and other factors that could shape the season. With a new broadcast deal also set to begin, this season is shaping up to be one of the most highly anticipated in recent memory, and the release of the schedule on Thursday is the first major step toward the opening tip-off.
