The New York Knicks will kick off their title defense on Oct. 20 against LeBron James’ Philadelphia 76ers (7 p.m. ET).
LeBron James will be making his first appearance in the colors of Philly.
According to ESPN, the Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons open the tripleheader on NBC in a rare matinee (3 p.m. ET), followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder at the San Antonio Spurs (9:30 p.m.) which is a rematch of last year’s Western Conference finals.
This year’s revamped Sixers squad featuring James, 41, and Jaylen Brown suffered a 4-0 sweep at the hands of the Knicks last season in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. In the meantime, the Spurs took down the Thunder in seven games in the second round of the Western Conference finals at the home court of their opponents.
The Celtics got knocked out of the first round of the playoffs last season, while the Pistons advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Opening week features two doubleheaders on ESPN, which will see Giannis Antetokounmpo’s first game with the Miami Heat against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 21. Also playing on that day is the Golden State Warriors at the Los Angeles Lakers. On Oct. 22, there will be the Cleveland Cavaliers at 76ers and Nuggets at Thunder.
Two more games on Prime Video for Oct. 23 were announced: Knicks at Celtics (7 p.m. ET) and Houston Rockets at Spurs (9:30). This game will take place in the Moody Center in Austin.
Christmas Day Extravaganza
The Christmas Day games’ schedule has been revealed with five games on ABC and ESPN, including James meeting his former Lakers team. They are: Spurs vs. Knicks, Heat vs. Celtics, Thunder vs. Wolves, and Denver Nuggets vs. Warriors.
This is the Knicks’ 59th Christmas game in the NBA history since its very first Christmas game in 1947 at Madison Square Garden. New York last hosted the Spurs on Christmas in 2024 when Victor Wembanyama in his Christmas debut established a Spurs record by scoring 42 points on the holiday. He also had 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocks while the losing team was powered by a 41-point game from Mikal Bridges.
This would be James’ 21st appearance on Christmas in his record 24th NBA season.
This will be Anthony Edwards’ third Christmas Day game while Luka Doncic of the Lakers will make his sixth appearance.
The complete schedule will be released on Thursday.
