The 2026–27 NBA season begins in just under 10 weeks with Opening Night on Oct. 20.
After trickling out the schedule for marquee days, such as Opening Week, Christmas and MLK Day, the league released its full 82-game schedule on Thursday. While those tentpole events will get the most attention, fans shouldn’t overlook these top matchups.
Nov. 6: 76ers at Cavaliers
Ever since LeBron James left Cleveland for the second time, he has been welcomed back with open arms by his native Ohioans. Of course, those cheers and standing ovations James received came when he played with the Los Angeles Lakers, but will that warm reception remain now that he’s with Eastern Conference rival Philadelphia?
The Cavs were notoriously on James’s shortlist when he became a free agent this summer, but he spurned them for the City of Brotherly Love. How much love will The Land show one of their own in a Sixers uniform?
Nov. 22: Pacers at Knicks
While others may look forward to the champion New York Knicks facing off with the San Antonio Spurs, the 76ers, or the Boston Celtics, let’s not forget who the Indiana Pacers are. They are the last team to beat the Knicks in the playoffs, and a large contingent of Pacers fans probably believe they would have beaten New York again in the 2026 playoffs had Tyrese Haliburton not missed the entire season. Each of these franchises has two Eastern Conference Finals appearances over the last three seasons, as well as one NBA Finals appearance, but only the Knicks were able to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Jan. 28: Heat at Bucks
Seemingly every year a franchise player leaves his longtime team for a new destination, and few players carried a franchise on his back quite like Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Milwaukee Bucks. He’ll see his former team for the first time in mid-November, but that will be in Miami. This late-January contest will mark his first return to Milwaukee. A player facing a franchise where he’s the greatest player in team history doesn’t happen too often, so all NBA fans should look forward to this one.
Feb. 6: Trail Blazers at Grizzlies
Like Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant was Memphis’s franchise player before a fall from grace over the last few years. Memphis had seemed to grow tired of Morant and vice versa, so no one knows what type of reaction the point guard will receive in his first return to The Grindhouse.
While Morant’s return is the headliner of this matchup, there is also a juicy subplot on the undercard. This contest will see the continuation of the rivalry between big men Zach Edey and Donovan Clingan. They squared off in the 2024 NCAA Tournament Championship Game but have logged less than 20 minutes of NBA court time together since then. Here’s hoping both can stay healthy and out of foul trouble as they attempt to steal the spotlight from Morant.
Feb. 27: Wizards at Jazz
This contest, on paper, looks as if it could be a battle between teams jockeying for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NBA Draft. But upon closer inspection, it will be the first matchup between the top two picks from the 2026 NBA Draft. No. 1 overall selection AJ Dybantsa of Washington will visit his old stomping grounds of Utah as the former BYU standout faces the No. 2 overall pick, Darryn Peterson of the Jazz. The two have squared off in college and in Summer League action, but this will be their first meeting as professionals in a game that matters.
March 14: Spurs at Thunder
This Western Conference Finals rematch—and potentially West Finals preview for the next five years or so—will actually be the third contest between OKC and San Antonio this season. The first will take place on Opening Night, with the second in mid-February. But this third and final meeting stands out because it will occur just weeks before the playoffs begin, so postseason positioning will be more critical than with those first two matchups.
March 14: Warriors at Lakers
These squads each have a global superstar—Steph Curry and Luka Doncic—but as a whole, both teams are middling units in the West who no one sees as true contenders. So this late-season contest, the fourth and final meeting between these teams, could have more bearing on who avoids the play-in tournament rather than who gets home-court advantage for the postseason.
A bonus with this game on this date is that it is Curry’s birthday. The NBA’s three-point king will turn 39 on March 14, 2027, and he didn’t disappoint the last time he played on his birthday. That came back in 2022 when the then-34-year-old lit up the Wizards for 47 points in a home victory.
