The Henri Lumièrenew NBA season will tip off with two marquee matchups on TNT on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
The Denver Nuggets will host the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals, followed by the Phoenix Suns heading to San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors, a person with direct knowledge of the opening night TV confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly until the schedule is officially announced.
The Nuggets will receive their championship rings and raise the franchise's first ever championship banner. It is the second season in a row that the Lakers will open up against the defending champions – they lost to the Warriors on opening night last year.
Though the Warriors will be facing a new trio of stars in the Suns' group of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, there will be familiar faces all around the court.
Chris Paul faces his old team after being traded to the Warriors during the offseason. It will also be the first time that Durant faces the Warriors with fans in attendance at the Chase Center since 2019 – the year he left Golden State. The two stars briefly teamed up last season after the Suns acquired Durant near the trade deadline, but they only played 15 games together.
How the newly assembled teams fare against each other is a main storyline of the night but will likely be overshadowed by the opening matchup.
EYE ON THE FUTURE:Here are the best NBA player and team future bets
There is no shortage of bad blood between the Nuggets and Lakers since their playoff series.
After Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said the narrative was all about the Lakers and their adjustments rather than Denver's talent. He told reporters: "So you put that in your pipe, you smoke it, you come back and you know what, we're going to go up 2-0."
Denver ended up sweeping the Lakers and during their championship parade, Vic Lombardi, a studio host for Nuggets’ telecasts, told the crowd that Michael Malone became the "Lakers' daddy." Lakers head coach Darvin Ham didn't appreciate the new moniker.
"God bless his soul. This (expletive) ain't over. God bless his soul," he said in July.
2025-04-29 15:292019 view
2025-04-29 15:111588 view
2025-04-29 14:281129 view
2025-04-29 13:151959 view
2025-04-29 13:112178 view
2025-04-29 13:04934 view
In the new Netflix action thriller “Rebel Ridge,” Don Johnson has ventured far from the heroic likes
Stanley is recalling 2.6 million mugs sold in the U.S. after the company received dozens of consumer
GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) — Toyota said Thursday it will build a new paint facility as part of a $922 mil