A trio of games back for the All-Star point guards Russell westbrook, Kyle lowry and Kemba walker stand out at the release of the full NBA schedule on Friday afternoon.
Westbrook will return to Washington with the Los Angeles Lakers on March 19, about a week after the teams meet in Los Angeles on March 11, while Lowry will return to Toronto for the first time with the Miami Heat on February 3. Walker will return to Boston with Evan fournier, who also joined the New York Knicks this offseason, on Dec. 18.
The schedule was revealed on ESPN’s The Jump, which earlier this week revealed the Christmas Day lineup and games on national television for the season’s opening week, which begins October 19.
All teams are scheduled for 82 games this season, the first time they will play a full roster since the 2018-19 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The last day of the regular season is April 10, when all 30 teams are scheduled to play. The play-in tournament will run from April 12-15, the playoffs begin on April 16, and the NBA Finals are scheduled to begin on June 2.
The games on ESPN / ABC will be available mostly in Spanish on ESPN Deportes and ESPN3.
ABC’s seven Saturday night games throughout the season begin with the Golden State Warriors traveling to Philadelphia to face off against Joel embiid and the 76ers on December 11, while the Brooklyn Nets star, Kevin Durant, will return to Golden State to face the Warriors for the first time with fans in attendance on January 29.
The other five games include the Knicks against the Lakers on February 5; the Lakers will play the Warriors on February 12; the Nets resume their opening night matchup against defending champion Bucks in Milwaukee on February 26; the Warriors will go to Los Angeles to play the Lakers on March 5; and the Bucks will go to Golden State to play the Warriors on March 12.
Sunday’s nine exhibition games on ABC feature Bring young and the Atlanta Hawks playing in Boston against the Celtics on February 13, the 76ers playing the Knicks in New York and the Utah Jazz going to Phoenix to face the defending Western Conference champion Suns on February 27. A week later, on March 6, the Suns go to Milwaukee for an NBA Finals rematch against the Bucks, and the Nets go to Boston to play the Celtics.
There will also be a pair of games on ESPN on February 27 and March 6 as part of a pair of four-day ABC / ESPN games. The Mavericks and Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans and Lakers will play on February 27, while the Knicks and LA Clippers and Pelicans and Denver Nuggets will play on March 6.
The remainder of ABC’s Sunday schedule includes the Battle for New York, with the Knicks crossing the East River into Brooklyn, and Luka doncic and the Mavericks traveling to Boston to face the Celtics on March 13. ABC’s final pair of Sunday games will take place on April 3, when the Mavericks host the Bucks and the Nuggets play in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
A rematch of the Eastern Conference finals will take place on Martin Luther King Day, with the Bucks traveling to Atlanta to play the Hawks. The Chicago Bulls will also play in Memphis that day, as will the Jazz in Los Angeles against the Lakers and the Pelicans in Boston against the Celtics.