The 2025-26 NBA schedule has officially been released, so now we can take stock of everything and get excited about all the top matchups for the upcoming season. Opening night will tip off Oct. 21, with the Oklahoma City Thunder beginning their title defense against the Houston Rockets, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Golden State Warriors.
While we still have just over two months until the regular season tips off, let’s take a look at some of the most exciting matchups on the schedule. Here are 10 games we’re looking forward to the most.
Oct. 21: Thunder vs. Rockets
We’re starting off the season with a bang with the first game on the schedule. This isn’t just enticing because the Thunder are getting their championship rings and raising a banner. No, we get Kevin Durant going against the team he started his career with, the team he left to achieve a championship. Now Durant will watch from the visiting bench as OKC celebrates the last moments of winning a title. Durant will also be suiting up for his new team for the first time after being traded to the Rockets this summer.
The storylines are endless from just this first game. While we’ll have to resist overreactions, we’ll certainly use this game as a barometer for how far away the Rockets are from legitimately challenging Oklahoma City this season.
We get the matchup of the top two picks in this year’s draft early this season, as Cooper Flagg (No. 1) and Dylan Harper (No. 2) will make their NBA debuts on the second day of the season. The expectations are high for Flagg, who is being billed as a generational star, and he’ll have a tough matchup out of the gates as he’ll go against another generational talent in Victor Wembanyama, who will make his return after having last year’s campaign cut short due to deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder.
At first glance, this may not jump out as a “must-watch matchup” compared to the other ones on this list. It lacks the megastars to drive ratings or sustained success, and neither squad can generate the widespread attention needed from casual fans to boost interest. But the Pistons and Magic figure to be two of the most intriguing teams in the East this season. These are two up-and-coming squads with promising young cores who could very well be in the running for a top-4 seed in the East. We’ll get to see which of these teams has the edge over the others in their rebuilds as both try to take advantage of some injuries to the top of the pecking order in the East.
This matchup would’ve been peak levels of excitement had Tyrese Haliburton been healthy. While it will lack some firepower to that degree as he recovers from a torn Achilles, this will be Myles Turner’s first game back in Indianapolis since unexpectedly joining the Bucks this summer. Turner has said he isn’t sure what the fan reception will be once he returns to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, but it’s sure to be a mix of emotions, as he’s now said on multiple occasions that he spurned the Pacers for the rival Bucks so that he could compete for a championship next season. Surely that won’t sit entirely well with all the Pacers fans after the team just made a trip to the NBA Finals, so for that reason alone, this game will be circled on the calendar.
Nov. 26: Warriors vs. Rockets
A rematch of a first-round matchup between these two teams brings extra intrigue as the Rockets reloaded by swapping Jalen Green for Durant. When these two teams met last year in the playoffs, it went the distance with seven games. Golden State came out on top after avoiding a collapse following a 3-1 lead through the first four games. Houston fought admirably in that series, but it wasn’t enough to advance. With Durant in tow, though, it certainly makes you wonder if the results would’ve been different had he been on the team last season. On Nov. 26, we’ll get to see if that’s the case.
A Western Conference finals rematch. The Timberwolves didn’t do much to close the gap between them and the Thunder this summer. In fact, they lost Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Hawks, but you can never count out Anthony Edwards, whose star continues to rise as one of the future faces of the league. And now that Edwards and Julius Randle have a full season under their belts, perhaps they’ll be more equipped to contend with the Thunder. This game comes in an NBA Cup meeting, making it even more thrilling for fans.
Nov. 28: Lakers vs. Mavericks
For obvious reasons, this will undoubtedly be one of the most anticipated games on the schedule. In fact, all four meetings between these two teams will be must-watch television, especially the April 5 meeting when Kyrie Irving may be back fully healthy from a torn ACL, giving us a real star-studded matchup. But until then, we’ll settle for Doncic’s first meeting with his former team in an NBA Cup matchup. Doncic has transformed himself this summer, prioritizing his health and slimming down. He’ll surely want to prove to Nico Harrison and everyone else within Dallas’ organization that they made the wrong decision in trading him — though that’s been widely agreed upon as soon as that trade happened.
Dec. 19: Knicks vs. 76ers
The Sixers hope to stay healthy this season, but it could be a slow start, as Paul George underwent knee surgery this summer. He’s expected to be reevaluated before training camp, so we’ll see if he actually misses any regular-season games. If the Sixers are fully healthy, they’ll be a solid threat to the likes of the Knicks and Cavaliers near the top of the East. The Knicks can match up against a healthy Joel Embiid and a Sixers team that has the depth. And don’t forget the Knicks made the Eastern Conference finals a season ago. It will be a good litmus test for Philadelphia to see where this team is at early in the season and gauge where they may fall in the pecking order of the East.
Dec. 25: Knicks vs. Cavaliers
These may very well be the two best teams in the Eastern Conference this season, and this matchup could be a preview of the conference finals. It will be a long road to get there from when these two teams first meet, but it will serve as a way for both teams to test the waters against the other in preparation for what could be a two-team battle to the top in a weak Eastern Conference. Merry Christmas!
Jan. 19: Cavaliers vs. Thunder
A potential NBA Finals matchup, anyone? These were the two best teams a season ago, and by the time they meet in January, they could very well be in the same position again. The Cavaliers had a disappointing finish last season after falling to the Pacers in the second round, far earlier than when anyone expected them to lose. They’ll still have plenty of doubters until they can get at least to the conference finals, but beating the defending champions would certainly build some credibility.
