NBA Schedule Announcement
The NBA Schedule for the 2024 season was released on August 15, and we can expect similar timing in 2025. See below for NBA tickets, top matchups and other schedule information for the 2025-26 NBA season.
The 2024-25 NBA season is nearly complete, and the 2025-26 NBA season is fast approaching, with the season tipping off in October.
The league is slated to return Oct. 21 for the 2025-2026 NBA season.
The 2024-25 NBA schedule was released in mid-August for the fourth year in a row. In the late 2000s, the NBA schedule release date was in the first week of August, before moving to Aug. 10 in 2010. The following year, the league moved up the schedule announcement date to July 19, the earliest it's been in the last decade-plus.
Once the full schedule is released, the date that NBA tickets go on sale will also be released.
NBA Schedule Release Date 2025-26 and Historical Dates
2025-2026: Aug. 14, 2025 (Anticipated)
2024-2025: Aug. 15, 2024
2023-2024: Aug. 17, 2023
2022-2023: Aug. 17, 2022
2021-2022: Aug. 20, 2021
2020-2021: Dec. 4, 2020
2019-2020: Aug. 13, 2019
2018-2019: Aug. 10, 2018
2017-2018: Aug. 14, 2017
2016-2017: Aug. 11, 2016
2015-2016: Aug. 12, 2015
2014-2015: Aug. 13, 2014
2013-2014: Aug. 6, 2013
2012-2013: July 26, 2012
2011-2012: July 19, 2011
2010-2011: Aug. 10, 2010
2009-2010: Aug. 4, 2009
2008-2009: Aug. 6, 2008
When is the 2025 NBA Draft?
The 2025 NBA draft will run from June 25 to June 26 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Dallas Mavericks have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Cooper Flagg is expected to go first overall in the draft.
Where Will the 2026 NBA All-Star Game Take Place?
The 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend will take place from February 13-15, 2026 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. However, the 2026 NBA All-Star Game is going to look quite different.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed during an appearance on Breakfast Ball that the 2026 All-Star Game will be some type of format that features American players competing against international players. The move is inspired by the success of the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off last February.
Election Day Games / Civic Engagement Night
Observing Election Day with a clear schedule is a tradition that the NBA plans to continue every two years to allow employees, including league staff, team workers and coaches and players, to exercise their right to vote in midterm and presidential elections.
In 2024, as Americans headed to the polls to cast their ballots in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the NBA did not hold any games on Nov. 5. All 30 NBA teams played the day before Election Day (Nov. 4).
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Games
The NBA will continue its long-standing tradition to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day during the 2025-26 NBA season. The celebration usually includes three nationally televised games.
NBA 2025-26 Opening Night
The 2025-26 NBA season will begin on Oct. 21. The league traditionally uses the first game of the season to celebrate the previous season's champions with a banner unveiling and ring ceremony.
NBA Christmas Day Schedule for 2025
NBA games on Christmas Day have been a part of the league since the inaugural season in 1946-47. The NBA usually plays around five games on Christmas Day. Once the league releases the 2025 NBA Christmas Day schedule, Vivid Seats will have the full details and tickets.
NBA International Schedule
League insider Marc Stein reported that Berlin and London have emerged as European favorites to host NBA regular-season games during the 2025-26 season. The NBA has previously played regular-season games in London. However, the league has previously only played exhibitions in its rare trips to Berlin.
Top 2025-26 NBA Games
- 76ers vs. Bucks
- Suns vs. Lakers
- Heat vs. Celtics
- Warriors vs. Kings
- Lakers vs. Clippers
- Heat vs. Nuggets
NBA 2024-25 Schedule Key Dates and Games
- June 25-26: 2025 NBA Draft
- July 5-6, 8: California Classic Summer League
- July 5, 7-8: Salt Lake City Summer League
- July 6: Free Agency Begins
- July 10-20: Las Vegas Summer League
- Oct. 2 & 4: NBA Abu Dhabi Games
- Oct. 3 & 5: Melbourne Series
- Oct. 10-12: NBA China Games
- Oct. 21: Regular Season Opening Night
- Dec. 25: Christmas Day Games
- Feb. 13-15: 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend (Los Angeles)
- April 2026: NBA Regular Season Ends and NBA Playoffs Begin
Check Vivid Seats for full NBA 2025-2026 ticket information.
This post was last updated on June 10, 2025.