LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will open up the NBA's 2023-24 regular season with a visit to face Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 24, according to The Athletic.

The Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, although each game was tightly contested into the fourth quarter. After Game 4, LeBron literally tipped his cap to the soon-to-be Finals MVP and called the Nuggets the best team he's faced in the postseason since joining the Lakers.

Of course, there's another layer of coaching intrigue to this matchup. Michael Malone repeatedly called out the media for shining too much attention on the Lakers during the playoffs, then was dubbed the “Lakers Daddy” by a Denver broadcaster.

During a taping of the #thisleague UNCUT podcast at Summer Leauge, Darvin Ham was asked about Malone's chatter.

Ham: “You’re gonna bring up Money Mike, man? ‘The Lakers’ Daddy?' That’s what they call him now? ‘The Lakers’ Daddy?'”

Chris Haynes: “I guess you can talk when you win a championship.”

Ham: “God bless his soul. This s–t ain’t over. God bless his soul.”

For the second year in a row, the Lakers will be in the building as the defending champions receive their rings. The Lakers fell to the Golden State Warriors, 123-109, in the first game of the 2022-23 regular season.

Following Lakers-Nuggets, the Phoenix Suns will face the Golden State Warriors on the second leg of a juicy doubleheader on TNT.

The Lakers will hold Media Day on Oct. 2 and begin training camp on Oct. 3. Here's their preseason schedule:

  • Oct. 7 at Warriors — Chase Center, 5:15 p.m.
  • Oct. 9 at Brooklyn Nets — T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, 6:00 p.m.
  • Oct. 13 vs. Warriors — Crypto.com Arena, 7:00 p.m.
  • Oct. 15 vs. Bucks — Crypto.com Arena, 5:00 p.m.
  • Oct. 19 vs. Suns — Acrisure Arena, Palm Springs, 7:00 p.m.

The rest of the NBA regular season schedule has yet to be released, although that usually happens sometime in mid-August.

At the moment, FanDuel has the Nuggets at +480 to repeat at champs, slightly behind the Boston Celtics (+470). The Lakers have the seventh-best odds, at +1500.