The NBA is beginning to release schedules for the 2025-26 season, with certain dates standing out as the most important.
The NBA released a portion of its schedule on August 12th. As always, there are several star-studded matchups on opening night and Christmas Day, allowing fans to expect many must-see games.
With the NBA season just months away, there are hopes for the three best games early on in the calendar.
Whenever Kevin Durant returns to Oklahoma City, the game is ripe for drama. Of course, fans feel that it’s still spurred from his 2016 decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors, but the current Thunder player has never shared the courtroom with KD.
Thunder raised the 2025 Final Banner on October 21, showing Durant that he doesn’t have to rub salt on the wounds and reach the promised land.
Aside from the drama, the Houston Rockets and Thunder are expected to be two of the best teams in the Western Conference, and as the league begins its season in this matchup, it will give fans a preview of the Western Conference Finals match. Plus, it shows whether the Thunder is a hangover from last season’s championship run.
The opening night is the day before (more on that later), but this is the first match between Victor Wembanyama and Cooper Flag, two of the most highly regarded draft prospects in recent memory.
Since being drafted first overall by the San Antonio Spurs in 2023, Wenbañama quickly stomped himself as the league’s best defender. Flag is expected to dominate that edge of the floor as well, and while the star-studded Dallas Mavericks could probably become a favorite, De’aaron Fox will be his 18th appearance in Silver and Black.
On top of the hype of the previous play surrounding Flag and Wenbanyama, the two are expected to be the face of global basketball for more than a decade, with Flag set to play for Teams USA and Wenbanjara, already solidifying himself as the best French player in the world
Again, the Durant and Rockets feature. The Los Angeles Lakers are firmly part of Luka Donsic at this point, but LeBron James is still the most famous player in the entire league, not to mention the Lakers.
On Christmas 2016, James’ Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the 109-108 Durant warriors in a rematch from the finals last season. James scored 31 points and 13 rebounds, while Durant posted 36 and 15 in one of his best Christmas games to date.
As James and Durant Age, this could be the last time fans will see the two share courts on Christmas, and they should enjoy the opportunity to see the two greatest ever clashing