NBA schedule release: LeBron vs. Knicks on opening night, Lakers on Christmas

The NBA will tip off its 2026-27 season with a triple-header — and some big-time matchups.

The reigning champion New York Knicks will host the Philadelphia 76ers at 7 p.m. ET on Oct. 20 in the marquee event of Opening Day. LeBron James will make his debut with his new team at Madison Square Garden the same night the Knicks will (likely) receive their championship rings. James and the Sixers will also face his former team the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day, and Philadelphia’s first home game will be against the Cleveland Cavaliers — with whom James has a bit of history — on Oct. 22.

The San Antonio Spurs will host the Oklahoma City Thunder in a Western Conference finals rematch at 9:30 p.m. ET. Victor Wembanyama and the young Spurs defeated the 2025 NBA champions in a great seven-game series last spring.

The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics will start the day with an afternoon game at 3 p.m ET. All three games will air on NBC.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is scheduled to make his debut with the Miami Heat on Oct. 21 when the Heat host the Minnesota Timberwolves and their new point guard LaMelo Ball. The Golden State Warriors will visit the Los Angeles Lakers that night, too.

Tuesday’s unveiling of the season openers was the first of a weeklong schedule reveal by the league. The NBA also announced its Christmas Day slate, which will include (all times ET and all games to air on ABC/ESPN):

• Spurs at Knicks, noon

• Heat at Celtics, 2:30 p.m.

• 76ers at Lakers, 5 p.m.

• Thunder at Timberwolves, 8 p.m.

• Denver Nuggets at Warriors, 10:30 p.m.

The NBA will feature five games on Christmas Day (Friday, Dec. 25) for the 19th consecutive year, with ABC and ESPN both televising each matchup.

Highlights include the first meeting between the Knicks and Spurs since the 2026 NBA Finals, as well as new 76er LeBron James’ return… pic.twitter.com/CgWdaaFJXN

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 11, 2026

The Christmas games begin with a rematch of last year’s finals between the Spurs and Knicks. James and the Sixers will square off against the Lakers, for whom James played from 2018 through last season. James will play on Christmas Day for a 20th straight year this season. He made his Christmas debut as an 18-year-old rookie.

The Timberwolves will host a Christmas Day game for the first time in franchise history.

The Knicks, 76ers, Spurs, Celtics and Thunder will all play twice on national TV during opening week.

The first four days of the 2026-27 NBA regular season will feature nine national games across NBC/Peacock, ESPN and Prime Video.

Fans can purchase tickets at https://t.co/kQADBA8FDD.

NBA Schedule Release presented by @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/0qep3dyAvw

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 11, 2026

The NBA Cup schedule will be released Wednesday, and full schedules for all 30 teams will be unveiled Thursday afternoon. A mid-August reveal is consistent with last year’s timeline, even though this summer brought some uncertainty surrounding one key free agent.

“Where LeBron (James) plays affects the schedule,” commissioner Adam Silver said July 16 while speaking on a panel at the CNBC/Boardroom Game Plan event at Fanatics Fest 2026. “I would like him to make his announcement already so we can finish the schedule, because, as you might imagine, the teams are calling us, the networks are calling us, and everybody wants to lock in the schedule. But it will influence how we set the schedule, how we set opening week, Christmas Day, etc.”

A week later, the 41-year-old James announced his intention to join the Philadelphia 76ers, and it seems like a near certainty that we’ll see James, Jaylen Brown and company featured prominently throughout the season.

This will mark the second year of an 11-year, $75 billion national television contract for the league. Last season was the first to feature a new partnership with Amazon and a reunion with NBC.

Longtime broadcast partners ESPN and ABC will carry the Christmas games as usual, but they will face stiff competition from the NFL, which has three games (Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills vs. Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks) scheduled for Christmas and one (Houston Texans vs. Philadelphia Eagles) planned for Christmas Eve.

The NBA already announced in June that NBA Cup group-play games will begin Oct. 30, with the championship game set for Dec. 11 at Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. That will be the first in-season tournament title game not to be played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The semifinals of the NBA Cup are also moving from Las Vegas to home sites. Those will take place Dec. 8 or Dec. 9.

This story will be updated.