If it wasn’t for the Olympics, the buzz around basketball would be fairly low at the moment, at least compared to the rest of the year. We’re in the middle of the offseason, nearly two months removed from the end of the Finals and a little over two months from the start of the 2016-17 regular season.
As an NBA fan, the one thing you can count on every year around now is the release of the ensuing year’s schedule, which occurred earlier today.
We kick things off with a pair of marquee matchups on October 25th on TNT, as the new-look New York Knicks travel to Cleveland to take on the defending champion Cavaliers, and the San Antonio Spurs get the first crack at Kevin Durant with the Golden State Warriors.
74 days until #KIATipOff16!
Watch the NBA Schedule Release Special on @NBATV pic.twitter.com/p89Hwp9sNk— NBA (@NBA) August 11, 2016
The Utah Jazz will also take on the Portland Trail Blazers on opening night, but it won’t be nationally televised on TNT.
A day later, the top three picks in the draft, Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, and Jaylen Brown, will kickoff their highly anticipated NBA careers:
The start of the next chapter! #NBARooks
Watch the NBA Schedule Release Special now on @NBATV pic.twitter.com/LzIh6QOLMy— NBA (@NBA) August 11, 2016
A few of the Christmas games were actually leaked before the NBA’s official schedule release, but here’s the full slate:
'Tis the season for family, ugly sweaters, and #NBAXmas
Watch the NBA Schedule Release Special on @NBATV pic.twitter.com/iWccjYccZK— NBA (@NBA) August 11, 2016
Finally, and certainly not least, we have “The Return” games for Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Durant:
These games are CAN'T MISS!
Watch the NBA Schedule Release Special now on @NBATV pic.twitter.com/XPSAxdD1tM— NBA (@NBA) August 11, 2016
Al Horford‘s departure from the Hawks didn’t receive all that much attention, but he was certainly the second best player to move teams this offseason. He’ll return to Atlanta with the Boston Celtics on January 13th.