NBA schedule release: 10 games we can’t wait to see

After a frenetic offseason and exciting Olympic basketball tournament, the NBA released its schedule for the 2024-2025 season recently. We’ve got our eyes on 10 games that we can’t wait to see that involve compelling storylines and some of the game’s biggest stars.

On paper, this matchup doesn’t feel like primetime television considering that Golden State is a long way away from contention. However, narratives from the Olympics might spill over into this early-season contest.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum called his less than prominent role with Team USA “challenging and humbling” according to the New York Post. Of course, the person who was directly responsible for Tatum’s minimized playing time was none other than Steve Kerr, head coach of the Warriors.

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Basketball fans just witnessed LeBron James and Stephen Curry team up to bring the gold medal home for the United States. The next time fans will see the two basketball legends suit up against one another in a game that matters will come on Christmas, and it’ll surely be a present.

While Curry figures to play in the NBA for a few more years, it’s anyone’s guess how much longer James’ career will last. Charles Barkley said on an ESPN podcast in May that he hopes James retires while he can still play.

It’s entirely possible that neither the Hawks nor the Spurs are competitive enough to make the NBA playoffs during the upcoming season. However, they both have cornerstone players in Zaccharie Risacher for Atlanta and Victor Wembanyama for San Antonio that hail from France as number one overall draft picks.

Wembanyama took pride in Risacher’s selection, telling Sports Illustrated, “If we’ve done it twice in a row (French players going number one overall), it means we can do it a third and why not a fourth time?” It’ll be interesting to see if Risacher battles nerves going up against his famous countryman.

It might be one of the most emotional games on the NBA schedule. Four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson will return to Golden State as a member of the Mavericks. Thompson was a lynchpin of the Warriors’ title teams, and will go down as one of the greatest shooters in NBA history.

It will be fascinating to see what type of recognition Golden State’s organization plans to give Thompson that night. NBC Sports Bay Area has already reported that Thompson’s jersey will eventually be retired, but the Warriors will likely have a special tribute up their sleeve for his first game back.

The Knicks and 76ers locked horns in a physical first round playoff series last spring, and will rekindle their budding rivalry early in the NBA season. Both teams figure to be important pieces in the Eastern Conference standings as they hope to set themselves up for deep playoff runs.

One of the subplots of the aforementioned playoff series was the lack of a homecourt advantage Philadelphia had. ESPN reported that 76ers management went so far as to purchase blocks of tickets to block Knicks fans from infiltrating their arena during the playoffs. The ratio of 76ers fans to Knicks fans in his game is something to keep an eye on.

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It came down to the final weekend of the regular season, but Oklahoma City was able to wrestle the number one seed in the Western Conference away from Denver and Minnesota. The Thunder have their sights set on a repeat performance in 2024-2025, and added veteran pieces like Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso to make it happen.

With that being said, the margin between the top teams in the Western Conference is razor-thin. The Thunder and Nuggets will start their season against one another, which will serve as an important measuring stick game for both teams.

Paul George was interested in returning to the Clippers this offseason, but Bleacher Report noted that Los Angeles was not willing to give him the four-year agreement that he sought. On his podcast, he called the Clippers’ initial offer disrespectful, so the seeds of divorce appeared to have been planted for some time.

George did end up receiving the four-year deal he wanted, only it was from the Philadelphia 76ers. This might not have gone according to plan for Los Angeles owner Steve Ballmer, who likely had visions of George in a Clippers uniform as they moved to the Inuit Dome ahead of this season.

The Knicks made a flurry of big moves this offseason, which has the fan base excited about what they can do in 2024-2025. Despite the talent on their roster, they did lose an important piece from last year’s team. Isaiah Hartenstein left the Knicks in order to sign a more lucrative deal with Oklahoma City.

January 3 will be the first time New York sees their former teammate in the regular season. The Knicks haven’t done a whole lot to replace Hartenstein’s production, which sets the new Thunder center up for the possibility of a huge performance in a revenge game.

“It took a while to think about it. There was a sense of me waiting to see if they (Denver) was gonna come back with an offer—but to be a part of this organization (Orlando), they wanted me just as much as I wanted them.” Those are the words of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as told to Sports Ilustrated, who will face off against his former Denver teammates as a member of the Magic in mid-January.

It’s going to be interesting to observe how much the Nuggets miss Caldwell-Pope, who was a mainstay in their starting five for the last few seasons. It’ll also be fun to see how Caldwell-Pope affects Orlando’s fortunes, as they were looking for a defensive-minded guard who could also reliably knock down three pointers.

The Pacers and Bucks were a part of a memorable first round playoff series last spring, one that went in a direction that Milwaukee was not thrilled about. The Bucks were the more veteran team, but fell to an upstart Indiana team that pushed the pace at every turn.

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Of course, Milwaukee was dealing with many significant injuries to star players. Giannis Antetokounmpo could not return from a calf injury in time to play, and Damian Lillard was hampered by an ailment of his own. Khris Middleton needed offseason to both ankles, although he played through the pain in the playoffs. Milwaukee hopes to fare better this time around against Indiana.