The leaks were all true. The NBA officially announced its opening night and Christmas Day matchups Tuesday, and they won’t come as a surprise to those who have been paying attention.
The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder will kick off the 2025-26 NBA season on opening night in a matchup against Kevin Durant’s Houston Rockets on Oct. 21. That game will take place at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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Later that night, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors will square off to open their seasons.
In addition to the notable matchups and players involved in the opening-night festivities, history will also be made once the Lakers get underway. Once LeBron James takes the court, he’ll pass Vince Carter for the most seasons played in NBA history. James, 40, is set to start his 23rd NBA season.
All four of those teams will also play on Christmas Day, which features a full, five-game slate. Here’s the complete league schedule for Dec. 25:
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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks at 12 p.m. ET
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San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder at 2:30 p.m. ET
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Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors at 5:00 p.m. ET
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Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers at 8:00 p.m. ET
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Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets at 10:30 p.m. ET
NBA fans paying close attention to the news shouldn’t be surprised by those matchups, which were leaked by ESPN’s Shams Charania on Friday. In addition to those games, however, the NBA also revealed a four-game slate on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and confirmed a few more marquee early-season matchups.
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day gets four-game slate
The NBA has scheduled games on Martin Luther King Jr. Day since it became a holiday in 1986. The Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks will kick off a four-game slate on MLK Day this season. The contest will start at 1 p.m. ET.
They will be followed by the Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers at 2:30 p.m. ET, the Mavericks and Knicks at 5 p.m. ET and the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons at 8 p.m. ET.
NBA confirms early marquee matchups, Cooper Flagg’s first game
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg will kick off his NBA career with a historic matchup. His first game will come against the San Antonio Spurs, which held the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
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It will mark just the second time in league history that the No. 1 overall pick will face the No. 2 overall pick to open the season. Flagg, who the Mavericks selected No. 1 overall, will take on Dylan Harper, who went No. 2 overall, on Oct. 22 on ESPN.
The Cavaliers and Knicks will also play on ESPN on Oct. 22.
The following day, the Thunder and Indiana Pacers will square off on the network. They’ll be followed by the Nuggets and Warriors.
Peacock will stream games on Mondays throughout the NBA regular season. The league announced the first set of those games Tuesday, which will start with the Cavaliers and Pistons on Oct. 27. That contest will begin at 7 p.m. ET.
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The Nuggets and Timberwolves will meet at 9:30 p.m. ET later that evening.
