The NBA released its full 2026-27 schedule on Thursday, and revenge does not appear to have been front of mind for the league. While the early-season and holiday slates feature plenty of marquee matchups, most of the stars who switched teams this offseason won't be returning to their former markets for a while.
Barring injuries, that might be a blessing in disguise. Pushing off their return games will give them more of a chance to get acclimated with their new surroundings and develop chemistry with their new teammates. By the time their return games arrive, they should be all systems go.
The following seven matchups should have some extra spice given the circumstances surrounding the departure of each player.
Trae Young @ Atlanta, Nov. 6
Trae Young still might have whiplash from how quickly he fell out of favor in Atlanta.
Heading into last season, he was bullish on what he could accomplish with the Hawks after they acquired Kristaps Porziņģis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard in an offseason overhaul. However, an early-season MCL injury wound up being the beginning of the end of his tenure in Atlanta.
With Young sidelined, the Hawks oriented themselves around Jalen Johnson, who flourished in his first All-Star campaign. They wound up trading Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, which was hardly the return one would have expected the four-time All-Star to fetch a few years ago.
Young now gets to play with Anthony Davis and No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa in Washington, so it's not like he's stuck on the going-nowhere Sacramento Kings. But the soon-to-be 28-year-old may feel motivated to prove to the Hawks that they gave up on him too early.
Tyler Herro @ Miami, Nov. 18
If one of your former teammates punches you in the face during the offseason, there's almost guaranteed to be bad blood when you cross paths in-season. Such is life for Tyler Herro, who reportedly got cold-cocked by Bam Adebayo after the two ran into one another in Las Vegas during summer league.
"The incident took place at a gym inside the Resorts World Casino in front of an AAU team run by Herro," Sam Amick, Joe Vardon, Eric Nehm and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reported. "According to multiple sources who witnessed the incident and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, Adebayo walked onto the courts and Herro said something to him. Adebayo approached Herro and, without hesitation, punched him. Herro’s AAU coach confronted Adebayo, and Herro yelled at his former teammate while being escorted out by security personnel."
According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Adebayo "confronted Herro about comments the guard had made, critiquing the center on social media after their seven-year run as teammates ended." Herro allegedly called into question whether Adebayo was deserving of his three-year, $160 million contract "to be a top-tier defender on some nights."
Adebayo might not revert to fisticuffs again, but Herro should expect to be on the wrong end of hard screens all night long in his return to Miami.
LeBron James @ Los Angeles, Dec. 25
LeBron James is the only player featured here who left his former team in free agency instead of trade. There shouldn't be as much bad blood between him and the Lakers with that in mind, particularly after their second ownership change in the past 18 months.
However, ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported in mid-May that LeBron felt the Lakers took him for granted at times. After James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on a veteran-minimum contract, McMenamin added that "people close to James believed the Lakers were ready to move on from the 22-time All-Star and were never serious about re-signing him" even though general manager Rob Pelinka said the opposite.
By all accounts, James is still on good terms with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. His beef appears to lie with the Lakers' front office and former majority governor Jeanie Buss.
After all, if LeBron was willing to play on a minimum contract this year, there was nothing stopping him from re-signing with the Lakers. Instead, he chose to join the Sixers because he thought they gave him his best shot at winning a championship.
Dončić and Reaves might be eager to prove him wrong in that regard on Christmas Day.
Jaylen Brown @ Boston, Jan. 21
During his introductory press conference with the Sixers, Jaylen Brown described his reaction when he found out that the Boston Celtics had traded him to their Atlantic Division rival.
"When I first got traded, I just threw my phone across the room," he said.
When asked how he would characterize his partnership with former teammate Jayson Tatum, Brown replied: "We won a championship together. So anybody that you win a championship, you would think that's what a brotherhood or a lifelong legacy would entail. Obviously there are ups and downs in any type of relationship, for sure. But on my end, nothing but respect. Besides when he plays the Sixers, I hope he does well. But other than that, everything for me is just based in respect."
In case that subtweet wasn't loud enough as is, a reporter followed up by asking whether Brown and Tatum had talked since the trade. Brown replied, "Not really."
In other words, it's safe to assume that he's going to be in seek-and-destroy mode in his return to Boston.
Giannis Antetokounmpo @ Milwaukee, Jan. 28
One week after Brown makes his first return to Boston, Giannis Antetokounmpo will do the same in Milwaukee. The crowd reaction should be… interesting, to say the least.
Antetokounmpo spent the first 13 years of his career in Milwaukee and helped the Bucks win a championship in 2020-21 for the first time in a half-century. He gave his all to the franchise and will be recognized as one of the greatest players ever to don a Bucks uniform.
But did the end of his tenure sully his reputation among Bucks fans? That's what we'll find out on Jan. 28.
Antetokounmpo refused to officially request a trade, although he did his damnedest to telegraph his desire to go elsewhere. But since he never forced the issue, the Bucks tried to run out the clock as long as they possibly could before they had no choice but to trade him.
Antetokounmpo's murky future helped submarine the Bucks' 2025-26 campaign before it even began. That shouldn't erase the 12 years of positive memories prior to that lost season, but it wouldn't be surprising if the end of his tenure left a sour taste in the mouths of both Antetokounmpo and Bucks fans.
Ja Morant @ Memphis, Feb. 6
A few years ago, Ja Morant looked like one of the NBA's brightest up-and-coming point guards. This summer, the Grizzlies effectively salary-dumped him onto the Portland Trail Blazers for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray.
A pair of suspensions for off-court dumbassery wound up causing Memphis to start developing an exit strategy. The Grizzlies tried to move Morant at the trade deadline, but teams were reportedly asking for additional compensation to take his contract on.
Morant won Rookie of the Year in 2019-20, Most Improved Player two years later and was named an All-Star in back-to-back seasons in the early 2020s. However, he clashed with head coach Tuomas Iisalo early in the 2025-26 campaign, which resulted in his receiving a one-game suspension for "conduct detrimental to the team."
League sources told ESPN's Michael C. Wright that Morant never got over the suspension "because he felt alienated by teammates, who were told to leave the star guard alone so he could work through the issues." Afterward, Morant reportedly told "players around the league and some of his former coaches that he isn't playing for Memphis anymore."
On Feb. 6, Morant will have a chance to prove the Grizzlies wrong for selling low on him.
LaMelo Ball @ Charlotte, Feb. 15
On the surface, the Charlotte Hornets' decision to trade LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, one unprotected first-round pick, three first-round swaps and three second-round picks was shocking. Although Ball averaged only 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds this past season—all of which were his lowest marks since the 2021-22 campaign—the Hornets finally appeared to be on the upswing.
However, Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson told reporters "when you look at the totality of the season and everything of where we were, it's important to take an honest look in the mirror of where you guys are as a team." He added that the goal "is never to compete for a play-in spot" or "even the playoffs for one year"; instead, it was "to get to the playoffs and stay there for a long time."
Peterson added that the addition of Reid and "the draft capital and the flexibility just felt like it was something that was able to achieve multiple goals in one transaction." With 2023 No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller eligible for an extension this offseason and 2025 No. 4 pick Kon Knueppel finishing as a close runner-up in last year's Rookie of the Year race, the Hornets were ready to turn the page on the LaMelo era.
The Timberwolves sound bullish about how the addition of LaMelo should help Anthony Edwards in particular. Perhaps he's best suited as the No. 2 alongside another star rather than the focal point of his team. But he'll likely be eager to make the Hornets look foolish on Feb. 15.
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