The NBA released its 2026-27 regular-season schedule Thursday, confirming dates for a Finals rematch on Christmas Day and a series of homecomings involving some of the biggest names to change teams this offseason.
The defending champion New York Knicks will host the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 25 in their first meeting since New York won last season’s NBA Finals. The teams will meet again March 7 in San Antonio.
Their noon ET matchup opens the traditional five-game Christmas slate. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat visit the Boston Celtics at 2:30 p.m., followed by the Philadelphia 76ers visiting the Los Angeles Lakers at 5 p.m. in LeBron James’ first game back in Los Angeles since joining Philadelphia.
The Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Minnesota Timberwolves at 8 p.m. before the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors close the day at 10:30 p.m.
Jaylen Brown will return to Boston when the 76ers visit the Celtics on Jan. 21, bringing the former NBA Finals MVP back to TD Garden after he was traded to Philadelphia in the offseason. The Sixers will host Boston on Nov. 10, giving Brown his first chance to face the team he spent his first 10 NBA seasons with.
Antetokounmpo will make another significant return Jan. 28, when Miami visits Milwaukee. The two-time MVP spent his first 13 seasons with the Bucks and led the franchise to the 2021 NBA championship before being traded to the Heat this summer.
Other familiar faces will also make trips back to their former homes. Portland Trail Blazers guard Ja Morant returns to Memphis on Feb. 6 after being traded by the Grizzlies, while Minnesota’s LaMelo Ball visits Charlotte on Feb. 15.
Opening night on Oct. 20 features another marquee collection of games. Boston visits Detroit before the Knicks raise their championship banner against the revamped 76ers, as James and Brown make their Philadelphia debuts. San Antonio then hosts Oklahoma City in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals.
The following night features Antetokounmpo’s Heat debut against Ball and the Timberwolves.
On Feb. 5, the Indiana Pacers visit Oklahoma City in a rematch of the entertaining 2025 NBA Finals. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles in Game 7 in Oklahoma City and missed all of last season. He’s healthy now.
The league also set Feb. 27 for the first regular-season meeting between the top two picks in the 2026 draft, with No. 1 AJ Dybantsa and Washington visiting No. 2 Darryn Peterson and Utah.
Each team received dates for 80 of its 82 games. The remaining two will be determined by the results of NBA Cup group play, with those games filling the Dec. 4-10 portion of the schedule.
–Field Level Media
Comments