The NBA has started to release its schedule for the 2025-26 season, and certain dates stand out as the most important.
The NBA released part of its schedule on 12 August, and, as always, opening night and Christmas Day feature some star-studded matchups, and fans can expect plenty of must-watch games.
With the NBA season only months away, here are our expectations for the three best games on the early part of the calendar.
October 21: Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder (NBC, Peacock)
Any time Kevin Durant returns to Oklahoma City, the game is ripe for drama. Of course, no current Thunder player ever shared the court with KD in OKC, although the fans still feel spurned from his 2016 decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors.
The Thunder will raise their 2025 Finals banner on October 21, rubbing salt into the wound and showing Durant that they didn’t need him to get to the promised land.
Drama aside, the Houston Rockets and Thunder are expected to be the two best teams in the Western Conference, and as the league kicks off the season with this matchup, it will give fans a preview of a possible Western Conference Finals matchup. On top of that, it will show if the Thunder are hungover or not from their championship run last season.
October 22: San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks (ESPN)
Opening night will be the day prior (more on that later), but this is the first matchup ever between Victor Wembanyama and Cooper Flagg, two of the most highly-touted draft prospects in recent memory.
Since being drafted first overall by the San Antonio Spurs in 2023, Wembanyama has quickly stamped himself as the best defender in the league. Flagg is also expected to dominate on that end of the floor, and while the star-studded Dallas Mavericks will likely be heavy favorites, De’Aaron Fox will make only his 18th appearance for the Silver and Black.
On top of the pre-draft hype surrounding Flagg and Wembanyama, the two are expected to be the face of global basketball for the next decade or more, with Flagg expected to play for Team USA and Wembanyama already cementing himself as the best French player in the world
December 25: Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers (ABC, ESPN)
Once again, Durant and the Rockets feature. While the Los Angeles Lakers firmly belong to Luka Doncic at this point, LeBron James is still the most famous player in the entire league, let alone on the Lakers.
On Christmas 2016, James’ Cleveland Cavaliers bested Durant’s Warriors, 109-108, in a rematch of the previous season’s Finals. James scored 31 points and nabbed 13 rebounds, and Durant posted 36 and 15 of his own in one of the best Christmas Games ever.
As James and Durant age, this could be the last time fans will see the two share the court on Christmas, and they should relish a chance to see two all-time greats clash
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