The NBA announced the national TV schedule of games for the opening week and Christmas Day for the 75th anniversary season.
The complete schedule for the 2021-22 NBA season will be released on Aug. 20 at 3 p.m. ET.
The first four days of the 75th anniversary season will feature eight games and include 12 teams.
It will also feature the last eight players to win the NBA MVP award (Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Derrick Rose), as well as three rematches from last season’s playoffs.
The schedule for the first four days of the season:
- Tuesday, Oct. 19: Brooklyn Nets @ Milwaukee Bucks, 7:30 p.m. ET; Golden State Warriors @ Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m. ET
- Wednesday, Oct. 20: Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m. ET; Denver Nuggets @ Phoenix Suns, 10 p.m. ET
- Thursday, Oct. 21: Dallas Mavericks @ Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m. ET; Los Angeles Clippers @ Warriors, 10 p.m. ET
- Friday, Oct. 22: Nets @ Philadelphia 76ers, 7:30 p.m. ET; Suns @ Lakers, 10 p.m. ET
On Christmas Day, there will be a five-game slate for the 14th year in a row.
The schedule:
- Hawks @ Knicks, 12 p.m. ET
- Celtics @ Bucks, 2:30 p.m. ET
- Warriors @ Suns, 5 p.m. ET
- Nets @ Lakers, 8 p.m. ET
- Mavericks @ Utah Jazz, 10:30 p.m. ET
The Nuggets are notably missing from the Christmas Day lineup, as Jokic is the first reigning MVP to not get a Christmas Day game since the NBA went to 5 games on Christmas in 2008, per StatMuse.
The regular season begins on Oct. 19 and ends on April 10, 2022, followed by the play-in tournament that will run from April 12-15.
The playoffs will then start on April 16 and a potential Game 7 of the NBA Finals would be on June 19.
