The NBA offseason news have slowed to a trickle, and the next big tentpole on the NBA calendar is the release of the schedule for the 2025-26 season.
2025-26 NBA regular season schedule release date and time
The NBA schedule is typically released in late August for the upcoming season. Often, the schedules for Opening Night and Christmas Day are leaked a few days before the full schedule is released. In addition, beat writers for specific teams occasionally get a line on a handful of key matchups before the full schedule for their teams is out. Stay tuned, and we'll continue to update this post as we learn more.
NBA Opening Night 2025 matchups
NBA Opening Night is typically a double-header featuring some of the best teams in the league, including the defending champion, as they raise their banner and receive their rings. That means the Thunder will almost certainly be on the schedule, potentially as the late game. In a typical season, you'd expect the Indiana Pacers to play, after representing the East in the Finals last season. But with Tyrese Haliburton out with an Achilles injury, it would be a huge surprise to see Indiana left out. If you're wondering what these matchups could look like, we've got you covered.
NBA Christmas Day 2025 matchups
The NBA Christmas Day schedule is usually leaked a few days before the full schedule is announced. Typically, it's a five-game slate starting in the afternoon, with the final game tipping off at 10:00 p.m. ET. This is the league's premier regular-season showcase so you can expect to see teams like the Knicks, Lakers, Thunder, Nuggets and Cavaliers in action. It will be especially interesting to see how the league handles teams like the Warriors, Celtics and 76ers — scheduling them for a Christmas Day game could be an indication the league expects them to be competitive despite big injury question marks.
Other confirmed games on the 2025-26 NBA schedule
While you're waiting for the rest of the schedule to be revealed, the three international games planned for the 2025-25 season have already been announced.
DATE | TEAMS | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
Nov. 1, 2025 | Pistons vs. Mavericks | Mexico City |
Jan. 15, 2026 | Grizzlies vs. Magic | Berlin |
Jan. 18, 2026 | Magic vs. Grizzlies | London |
Other important dates on the NBA calendar
After the release of the schedule, we'll have about a month before training camps open and the preseason slate begins. But if you're jonesing for high-level basketball action in that window, you can get your fix from the WNBA and the FIBA EuroBasket tournament, which will feature a ton of NBA players.
- Oct. 2-4: NBA Abu Dhabi Games — Knicks vs. 76ers
- Oct. 3-5: NBA Melbourne Series — Pelicans vs. NBL teams
- Oct. 6: NBA Canada Series — Nuggets vs. Raptors
- Oct. 10-12: NBA China Games — Nets vs. Suns
- Oct. 21: Opening Night
- Oct. 31: Emirates NBA Cup Group Play begins
- Nov. 28: Emirates NBA Cup Group Play ends
- Dec. 9-10: Emirates NBA Cup Quarterfinals
- Dec. 13: Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals
- Dec. 16: Emirates NBA Cup Finals
- Feb. 13-15: All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, CA
- Apr. 12: Final day of the regular season
- Apr. 14-17: NBA Play-In Tournament
- Apr. 18: NBA Playoffs begin
- June 4: NBA Finals begin
- June 21: Last possible day for the NBA Finals
The time and date of the NBA Trade Deadline hasn't been announced yet but, if the league hews to the typical spacing of events, it's likely to be Thursday, Feb. 5 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
How to watch NBA games this season
The NBA is entering a new era with some broadcast rights moving from TNT to Amazon and NBC, in addition to games on ESPN and ABC as in the past. To catch all the national action, you'll need a cable package that includes ESPN, ABC and NBC, as well as an Amazon Prime subscription. The games on ESPN, ABC and NBC will also be streamed and can be viewed either through subscriptions to Peacock and Disney+ or an over-the-top service like Sling, YouTube TV or Fubo.
In addition, if you want to make sure you can watch every game for your favorite team, you'll either need to look at the local broadcast situations for each team or subscribe to NBA League Pass.