When is 2022-23 NBA opening night?

NBA Opening Night is rapidly approaching and the league has a dramatic double-header planned. Here’s what you need to know to watch.

This NBA offseason was defined by dramatic trades completed — Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Dejounte Murray — and several others that never panned out — Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant. With rosters largely settled and fans are finally ready to shift attention from hypotheticals to the actual games.

With the COVID-interrupted 2019-20 season now well in the rearview mirror, the league is back to its traditional calendar with the season beginning in the middle of October.

NBA Opening Night is Tuesday, Oct. 18 and will feature a double-header matchup with several championship contenders. Wednesday, Oct. 19 will see 12 games with 24 additional teams starting their seasons.

What is the schedule for NBA opening night?

The Philadelphia 76ers will play the Boston Celtics at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers on the road against the Golden State Warriors at 10:00 p.m. ET. Both games will be televised on TNT and available to be streamed through WatchTNT or Fubo.TV.

The Celtics and Warriors met in the NBA Finals last year and both have legitimate championships aspirations again with slightly re-tooled rosters. The Celtics pulled off a big trade to land Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers and are hoping to get Danilo Gallinari back from a knee injury before the end of the season. The Warriors lost Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica but will replace them with Donte DiVincenzo, JaMychal Green and a hopefully healthy James Wiseman.

The Lakers weren’t able to pull off the big trades they were hoping for this summer but LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and a retooled bench mean they can’t be ignored. The Philadelphia 76ers made some significant changes this offseason, re-upping James Harden while adding P.J. Tucker, De’Anthony Melton and Montrezl Harrell.

If you want to start the season by watching the best the league has to offer, this NBA Opening Night slate is a great place to begin.