With the NBA 2025 preseason in full swing, the final buzzer announcing the start of the 2025-26 regular season is merely days away. As fans are counting down the days to the main show, some US basketball greats have already pulled out of the opening night due to serious concerns.
The bad news rolling out at the moment has registered LeBron James and Keegan Murray missing out on the season’s beginning over health reasons. Last week, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that their legendary stalwart LeBron James would be skipping the opener – despite it marking the onset of his record 23rd season – due to sciatica. Similarly, the Sacramento Kings have since also revealed that forward Keegan Murray will be out dealing with a thumb injury, especially since he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb during Friday’s Kings vs Blazers showdown.
Despite some beloved talents sitting out the big show opening, the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season will be here before you know it. With the NBA Preseason ending on October 17 (US time), the rosters for the NBA Opening Day will be set on October 20 at 5 pm ET. According to the official release shared by the National Basketball Association last week, the sports world will then observe the 6th Annual NBA Jersey Day on Monday, October 20, to celebrate the start of a new basketball season.
Here’s what comes next.
2025 NBA Season Start: What comes next
NBA Opening Night: The start of the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season is slated for October 21, with the opening night tipping off in Oklahoma City. The Rockets at Thunder schedule will pick up at Paycom Centre at 7:30 pm ET, while the Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers will continue the basketball action at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles at 10 PM ET.
Opening Week games:
- Cleveland at New York (7 pm ET) – Wednesday, October 22
- San Antonio at Dallas (9:30 pm ET) – Wednesday, October 22
- Oklahoma City at Indiana (7:30 pm ET) – Thursday, October 23
- Denver at Golden State (10 pm ET) – Thursday, October 23
- Boston at New York (7:30 pm ET) – Friday, Oct 24
- Minnesota at LA Lakers (10 pm ET) – Friday, Oct 24
- Peacock Exclusive: Cavaliers at Piston (7 pm ET) – Monday, Oct 27 –
- Peacock Exclusive: Nuggets at Timberwolves (9:30 pm ET) – Monday, Oct 27
NBA Mexico City Game 2025: Nov 1 – Detroit Pistons vs Dallas Mavericks in Mexico City
Emirates NBA Cup:
- Oct 31: Celtics at 76ers (7 pm ET)
- Oct 31: Lakers at Grizzlies (9:30 pm ET)
- Nov 7: Rockets at Spurs (7:30 pm ET)
- Nov 14: Heat at Knicks (7 pm ET)
- Nov 14: Warriors at Spurs (9:30 pm ET)
- Nov 21: Pacers at Cavs (7 pm ET)
- Nov 21: Nuggets at Rockets (9:30 pm ET)
- Nov 28: Bucks at Nicks (7:30 pm ET)
- Nov 28: Mavs at Lakers (10 pm ET)
Emirates NBA Cup 2025: Group play ends on November 28
Emirates NBA Cup – Knockout Rounds (Quarterfinals): December 9-10
Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals: December 13 in Las Vegas
Emirates NBA Cup – Championship: December 16
World Basketball Day: Dec 21
NBA on Christmas Day (Dec 25):
- Cleveland at New York (12 pm ET)
- San Antonio at Oklahoma City (2:30 pm ET)
- Dallas at Golden State (5 pm ET)
- Houston at LA Lakers (8 pm ET)
- Minnesota at Denver (10:30 pm ET)
NBA Berlin Games 2026: Magic vs Grizzlies in Berlin on January 15
NBA London Games 2026: Magic vs Grizzlies on January 18
Martin Luther King Jr Day (Jan 19):
- Bucks at Hawks (1 pm ET)
- Thunder at Cavs (2:30 pm ET)
- Mavs at Knicks (5 pm ET)
- Celtics at Pistons (8 pm ET)
NBA Rivals Week: January 20-24, 2026
NBA Pioneers Classic: Bucks at Celtics 92:30 pm ET) on Feb 1
NBA Trade Deadline: Feb 5 at 3 pm ET
2026 NBA All-Star: Feb 13-15
2026 NBA HBCU Classic (Feb 13): Hampton University vs North Carolina A&T
Playoff eligibility waiver deadline: March 1
Regular season ends: April 12
Roster for NBA Playoffs 2026: April 13 at 3 pm ET
Where to watch the 2025-26 NBA Season?
- NBA Opening Week: ESPN
- Opening Week (Boston vs New York, Minnesota vs LA): Debut NBA game on Prime Video
- Emirates NBA Cup: Prime, ESPN, NBC/Peacock
- NBA Christmas Day: ABC, ESPN
- Global Game – Mexico City: Peacock
- Global Game – Berlin: Prime
- Global Game – London: Prime
- MLK Day Games: NBC, Peacock
- Rivals Week: NBC (Spurs at Rockets, Lakers v Nuggets), ESPN (Cavaliers v Hornets, Thunder v Bucks), Prime (Warriors v Mavericks, Lakers v Clippers, Rockets v Pistons, Pacers v Thunder), ABC (Kicks v Sixers, Warriors vs Timberwolves, Lakers v Mavericks)
- NBA All-Star 2026: NBC/Peacosck, ESPN
- Postseason: Prime (SoFi NBA Play-in Tournament), ESPN, ABC, NBC/Peacock and Prime (NBA Playoffs by Google), ABC (NBA Finale by YouTube TV)