Schedule for the 2024-25 NBA season released; defending champions Celtics to face New York Knicks

The Boston Celtics will raise their 18th championship banner on October 22 before hosting rivals New York Knicks for the first game of the 2024–25 NBA season.

The NBA released its full regular-season schedule on Thursday, after announcing the Emirates NBA Cup (season tournament) schedule earlier this week.

The first night of the season features a doubleheader starting with Boston-New York, followed by a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Lakers are a Christmas Day fixture for the 26th consecutive year – visiting the Golden State Warriors – and are a primetime attraction again this season, appearing on national television 39 times, including 11 games on TNT, 10 games on ESPN, 6 games on ABC and 12 games on NBA TV.

The Philadelphia 76ers will unveil their new Big Three – with Paul George alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey – on October 23 against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks.

That same evening, the Los Angeles Clippers will inaugurate their new home stadium against the Phoenix Suns. George will visit the Clippers, his old team, just two weeks later when the Sixers play in Los Angeles on November 6.

The Dallas Mavericks also boast a new Big Three after signing Klay Thompson to play alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Their season debut will be at home on October 24 against the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama.

As announced earlier this week, Thompson will face his old team, the Warriors, in San Francisco on November 12th for the start of the NBA Cup group stage.

In addition to the Lakers vs. Warriors matchups, the NBA has packed its usual five-game nationally televised schedule with Spurs vs. Knicks, Timberwolves vs. Mavericks, 76ers vs. Celtics and Denver Nuggets vs. Suns, which follows the Steph Curry vs. LeBron James matchup.

All-Star weekend is scheduled for February 14-16 in San Francisco, shortly after the trade deadline on February 6. The regular season ends on April 13.

(This article has not been edited by News18 staff and is from the feed of a syndicated news agency – Reuters.)