NBA 2024-25 Schedule: Games You Can’t-Miss And Key Matchups For The Upcoming Season

The dates and times for the NBA games for the forthcoming, all the games NBA 2024-25 Schedule, have been announced. Which debuts? Star face-offs? Reunions? What playoff rematches are we looking forward to seeing most?

The idea that many league stars will wear a new t-shirt next season will be unique—Kay Thompson with the Dallas Mavericks, Paul George with the Philadelphia 76ers, Mikal Bridges with the New York Knicks, DeMar DeRozan with the Sacramento Kings and many others—so we will see some interesting meetings.

The best newcomers are to meet starting in October, with Zaccharie Risacher vs. Alex Sarr meeting in October and Donovan Clingan vs. Zach Edey meeting in a rematch of the 2024 NCAA title game to be staged in November.

Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama will seek to consolidate his status as a future star of the NBA, while LeBron James, winner of the Olympic gold medal in Paris, will start his 22nd season in the NBA.

Those are just some of the storylines we are looking forward to unraveling in 2024–25. That’s why, in light of the NBA publishing its full calendar on Thursday, the NBA experts are revealing the most attractive games of the upcoming season: when to watch Wemby, all the important matches of the so-called revenge narratives into the new season, the Christmas Day quintet, and all the key matches within the framework of both LA arenas.

NBA 2024-25 Schedule

New York Knicks at Boston Celtics
Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. ET | TNT

The defending champions will unfurl their 2024 championship against arguably the team they are most likely to face in the Eastern Conference finals. The Knicks were in a position to set up a clash with the Celtics in May and the inclusion of Mikal Bridges increases the chances of a vintage run in the playoffs next year.

Phoenix Suns at LA Clippers
Oct. 23, 10 p.m. ET | ESPN

The Clippers will inaugurate the Intuit Dome and the fans’ friendly architecture—the so-called “Wall,” planned not to contain the visiting fans—against gold medalists Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and the Suns. But it is our first taste of the Clippers without George after he left for the Sixers in NBA free agency.

San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks
Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m. ET | TNT

Victor Wembanyama begins his second NBA campaign against an opponent who knows something about a Year 2 leap: Luka Doncic, the 21-year-old who made the first team in the All-NBA at a time when he was setting records as the Rookie of the Year the year before. They expectantly return from a Finals run and the Mavericks will be in the process of reintroducing summer signing Klay Thompson.

Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
Nov. 12, 10 p.m. ET | TNT

This will be the most looked-forward-to revenge game of the season because Klay Thompson will have his shot at making it to his former team. Now, his Golden State narrative is clearly written after becoming part of one of the best shooting duos in NBA history, the result of which was four championships, but Thompson felt ‘miserable’ and ‘disrespected’ in his 13th and last season with the Warriors, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Kendra Andrews. Doncic and Kyrie Irving will therefore be looking to post up Thompson as early as possible, as the sharpshooter will be aiming to outdo his own record of shooting 14 3-pointers against his former team this season, against Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

Philadelphia 76ers at LA Clippers
Nov. 6, 10 p.m. ET | ESPN

Paul George was angry because the Clippers hesitated to offer him the same three-year, $150 million extension that was signed with Kawhi Leonard in January. It was when the negotiations started again that George hiked his price. The Clippers refused to offer George a max deal or no-trade clause, and their small-ball All-Star left for the 76ers to avoid playing on the second apron. George, who signed a four-year, $212 million deal to join the Sixers, was going to christen the Intuit Dome with Leonard. Rather, he will have tremendous incentive to illuminate Steve Ballmer’s technological marvel on the day after the election. Moreover, they will face PG and the Sixers in two matches of the regular season within 2½ weeks in November.

Sacramento Kings at Chicago Bulls
Jan. 12, 3:30 p.m. ET

Not only is DeRozan back in his home state of California but he is also back on a team that is vying for at least a playoff spot after signing with the Kings in a sign-and-trade deal. DeRozan spent three seasons averaging 25. points in Chicago, but in that period, the Bulls entered the playoffs only once and were eliminated in the first round. DeRozan will be looking forward to having a playoff run only three times in the last seven years and proving to the team that he is among the best when it comes to clutch shooting. If this game is tight at the end, then DeRozan will surely remind the Bulls of that statement frequently.

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Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks
Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m. ET

It only took the Knicks and Nets a decade and a half to share a roster player since their trade in 1983 until this summer. When Brooklyn fans look at Bridges wearing a Knicks jersey, they get the feeling as though their team has regressed to the 1980’s. The Nets received a Brooklyn Bridge-sized package in exchange for Bridges and four more first-round picks, accompanied by a top-four protected first-round pick, an unprotected first-round pick swap, and a second-round pick.

Boston Celtics at Dallas Mavericks
Jan. 25, 5:30 p.m. ET | ABC

Rematches in finals are always interesting, even when the team that lost the series is not very united yet and is adding one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA in Thompson, though the former Golden State Warriors’ man was very poor this season from beyond the arc. The Celtics are a machine, and they had much better two-way balance than the Mavs in the Finals. But Doncic is an MVP candidate each year, and he is still improving season after season. It’s must-see television.

Denver Nuggets at Minnesota Timberwolves
Nov. 1, 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

Of all the shocks that occurred in the playoffs, perhaps none was bigger than when the T-Wolves registered a 20-point victory over the Nuggets’ den in game seven. Of course, you can imagine that Denver must be awaiting his chance for payback. But on a more fundamental level, mumbo jumbo can just watch Anthony Edwards, the league’s most engaging figure, face off against Nikola Jokic, the world’s best basketball player.

Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers
Nov. 1, 7 p.m. ET | ESPN

It was not the most appetizing of postseason first-round pairings, but it was the best and the only first-round series to go five games. And now, having had some playoff practice and having signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a two-time NBA champion, the Magic will become wiser and better. By the same token, it will be interesting to see whether the Cleveland Cavaliers, who recently signed Donovan Mitchell to a contract extension, can progress in the same season after changing a head coach—a step that was clearly required to avoid more questions regarding the team’s top players.

Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks
Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

We have observed the same with Trae Young and the Hawks several years before, and I am absolutely sure that it is going to be the same thing with Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers. Their rivalry is still going to be marketed when they meet the Knicks at the Garden, based on how New York’s playoff journey came to an end this year. From Reggie Miller’s heyday to Haliburton supplanting Jalen Brunson on this Team USA squad, the headlines should only be never-ending. But at their simplest, these are two good teams that would only build on the excellent showings that they both posted in the previous year.

San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks
Dec. 25, noon ET | ESPN

To be fair to captain Jalen Brunson and the Nova Knicks, this is just the tip-of-the-iceberg MSM perception that will only balloon as Wembanyama starts minting NYC MSG 25th Day cameo appearances. As he recently stressed in the Olympic gold medal game, the French phenomenon really loves to perform on grand occasions.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Dallas Mavericks
Dec. 25, 2:30 p.m. ET | ABC

The rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals is scheduled for a Christmas game, which means that another dazzling young talent, Anthony Edwards of Minnesota, will also make his debut. In any case, at 25, Doncic has already become the quintessential Christmas player, participating in the league’s Christmas showcase games for the fourth consecutive year. Last season, Doncic produced probably the greatest Christmas game in history when he had 50 points, 15 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks in a victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
Dec. 25, 5 p.m. ET | ABC

Are the 76ers equal to the defending champion Celtics? Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and newly signed Paul George will get their moments on the festive stage. Perhaps most importantly, will Boston have Kristaps Porzingis back by then?

Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors
Dec. 25, 8 p.m. ET | ABC

With his 11th consecutive Christmas appearance, you can only rank Santa Claus higher in terms of Christmas participation than LeBron James. He even features in NBA record books as the all-time Christmas point’ maker (476) and the all-time Christmas appearances maker (18). For Stephen Curry, Christmas games have more often than not been an unhappy affair. They stand at 4-6 when he plays in the 10 appearances he has made and Curry has a field average of 15.6 points in shooting 31.7% from the floor and 23.1% from the 3-point range.

Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns
Dec. 25, 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

The Suns may require its owner, Mat Ishbia, to foul Jokic again in order to put the brake on him. Jokic scored 41 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and contributed 15 assists in an overtime Christmas match against the Suns that came two seasons prior. Booker, who sat out the early part of that game due to injury, is the only starting player remaining for the Suns. Durable, whose roster metamorphosis began with the trade for him, is fifth all-time in scoring in Christmas games, trailing only LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Oscar Robertson, who have scored a cumulative 315 points.

LeBron’s 22nd season: Where will the King make history next?

Bronny’s debut with his father
Date: TBD

The NBA will be commencing its 79th season in the coming fall. Whenever Bronny James suits up for a game in which LeBron James also plays, they will become the first father-son pair to play alongside one another in the league’s 80-year history. What is more, the moment in question is going to be fabulous in terms of awesomeness, yet shortlived. From there on, the true task will be for the 55th choice on draft day to show how he will continue the improvement process.

LeBron’s first game at 40 years old
Cleveland Cavaliers at Los Angeles Lakers
Dec. 31, 9 p.m. ET

James has played on his birthday 10 times through his first 21 seasons, and he has been dominant on occasion, averaging 32.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.9 assists. His teams have gone just 5-5 in those Dec. 30 games, however, sometimes leading to an introspective James taking stock of the season afterward with usually 30 or so games under his belt as the calendar readies to flip to the New Year.

First visit to Intuit Dome
Los Angeles Lakers at LA Clippers
Jan. 19, 9 p.m. ET

Years ago, Rich Paul told ESPN James would never wear the Clippers jersey during his playing career since the struggling franchise isn’t worthy of James, although that was said before the Clips constructed perhaps the most eye-popping basketball arena on the planet. As a Laker, James might just enter intuit only as a transitory figure, but one is sure that intuit city will be hoping for him to perform to inaugurate the new court in its first year.

Nuggets revenge game
Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers
Nov. 23, 10:30 p.m. ET | NBATV

The young Lakers’ team might have sufficiently extinguished any hope their managers had for surviving Game 4 of their first-round series against Denver to avoid receiving a second consecutive sweep at the hands of Jokic & Co., but they then subsequently dropped the subsequent game to slump to a worrying 12 losses in their last 13 games against the Nuggets. As L.A. would be aiming to start fresh under its new head coach, JJ Redick, Jokic would also seem to have extra motivation against the Clippers after getting a taste of James and Anthony Davis when Team USA came back from the problems to beat his Serbian team in the semi-final of the Olympics.

French phenoms rookie showdown
Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks

Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. ET

It is not as glamorous as some of the recently hyped No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups but Risacher and Sarr, who are (probably) going to be national team partners, will start the battle in October. Well, Risacher and Sarr did play against each other in the summer league—Risacher scored 18 points, but Sarr and his Wizards won. Both players, especially Brown, are heading into the game to establish that they deserve a place in the league, given that most people have branded the season a weak year for the best picks in the draft.

National championship rematch
Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers
Nov. 10, 9 p.m. ET

Two of last season’s stars who played in the NCAA finals will clash for the first time with different roles in their respective squads. Edey’s Grizzlies are set to be back in playoff contention in the Western Conference given the return of Ja Morant. Clingan’s Trail Blazers, on the other hand, are expected to be scrapping for another lottery pick. As impressive as this first meeting will not be for the 7-foot-4 Edey and the 7-foot-2 Clingan, this match is worth watching.

Chet vs. Wemby Year 2
San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
Oct. 30, 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

Both Wembanyama and Wiesner showed glimpses of their potential in the 2022–23 season; in Wembanyama’s Instagram farewell message, he had photos of him fighting with Jokic, blocking Giannis Antetokounmpo, and hugging another rookie from France, Bilal Coulibaly, while blocking Chet Holmgren. Still, based on what both of these have said to the media, this is going to be a great rivalry for many years to come (maybe at the Olympics in 2028).

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