With the 2024 Paris Olympics in the books, it’s officially time to turn our attention to the 2024-25 NBA season. Opening night is set for Oct. 22, and will feature the Boston Celtics versus the New York Knicks and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Los Angeles Lakers, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The Celtics won their league-best 18th championship last season by defeating the Dallas Mavericks in five games. As is tradition, the defending champions get to play at home on opening night, and the Celtics will receive their rings and raise another banner to the rafters inside TD Garden against the Knicks.
It’s a bit of a surprise that the Dallas Mavericks will not get to play on opening night after winning the Western Conference last season. At the same time, you can’t blame the league for wanting LeBron James and the Lakers to take center stage to kick off the season, and they’ll face off against Anthony Edwards, the possible future face of the league, and his Timberwolves.
The full schedule will be released later this month, but other notable games have started to leak out:
Two finals rematches
- Celtics at Mavericks, Jan. 25
- Mavericks at Celtics, Feb. 6
The Celtics and Mavericks will meet for the first time since the 2024 Finals on Jan. 25 in Dallas, per The Athletic. They will then play again in Boston just a few weeks later on Feb. 6. Under the NBA’s current schedule format, Eastern and Western Conference teams play each other just twice a season.
Thompson’s return to the Bay Area
- Mavericks at Warriors, Nov. 12
In the end, Klay Thompson’s decision to leave the Golden State Warriors and join the Dallas Mavericks this summer was not all that surprising. Still, it will be strange to see him in a new uniform this season. He’ll make his first return to the Bay Area on Nov. 12 for what should be an emotional occasion.
Clippers opening their new building
- Suns at Clippers, Oct. 23
After two-plus decades of sharing Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) with the Lakers, the Clippers will finally open their own brand new building this season. The Clippers will play their first regular season game inside the Intuit Dome, which cost more than $2 billion to build, on Oct. 23 against the Phoenix Suns.
Sixers to open at home vs. Bucks
- Bucks at Sixers, Oct. 23
The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers are coming off disappointing first-round playoff exits due to injuries to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid. Both organizations will hope that better days are ahead, and they’ll begin the new campaign against each other in Philadelphia on Oct. 23.
