Basketball is back. Honestly, the wait always feels like an eternity once the Finals wrap up in June, but we've finally hit the grind of the 80th anniversary season. If you're looking for the nba regular season start date, it officially kicked off on Tuesday, October 21, 2025.
That night wasn't just some soft opening. The league went heavy with a doubleheader on NBC and Peacock—marking a massive shift in how we actually watch these games now. After 24 years away, NBC is back in the mix.
Why the NBA regular season start date felt different this year
Most fans just circle a Tuesday in October and call it a day. But this year, the calendar had some weird wrinkles. The preseason actually started way back on October 2, 2025, with those Abu Dhabi games featuring the 76ers and the Knicks. By the time the actual nba regular season start date arrived on October 21, some of these guys already had three weeks of jet lag and "exhibition" miles on their legs.
Opening night was a chaotic masterpiece.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, fresh off their first championship since moving from Seattle, hosted the Houston Rockets. Raising a banner is always emotional, but having Kevin Durant standing on the opposing sideline in a Rockets jersey? That’s just the NBA being the NBA.
The game itself was a mess in the best way possible. Double overtime. 22 lead changes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked like he was still in playoff mode, dropping 35 points and hitting the game-winning free throws with basically two seconds left. OKC walked away with a 125-124 win, which is a wild score for the first night of the season.
The LeBron and Steph Factor
Later that same night, we saw the Golden State Warriors edge out the Los Angeles Lakers 119-109. The big story wasn't just the score, though. It was LeBron James starting his 23rd season. Think about that for a second. 23 years.
He actually missed the opener due to sciatica—the first time he's missed an opening night in his entire career—which meant Luka Dončić had to carry the load in his purple and gold debut. Luka put up 43 points, but it wasn't enough to stop Steph Curry and a very deep Warriors bench.
Key dates you actually need to remember
If you missed the start, don't worry. The season is a marathon. The schedule is packed with specific "mini-seasons" now, thanks to the NBA Cup and the international tour.
- October 31, 2025: The Emirates NBA Cup began. This is the third year of the in-season tournament, and the group games are played primarily on Fridays.
- December 16, 2025: The NBA Cup Championship in Las Vegas. The New York Knicks ended up taking the trophy this year, beating the Spurs in the final.
- January 15 & 18, 2026: The Global Games. The Grizzlies and Magic just wrapped up a two-game set in Berlin and London.
- February 13-15, 2026: All-Star Weekend at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. This is going to be the first time Steve Ballmer’s new "basketball mecca" gets the All-Star spotlight.
The regular season is scheduled to wrap up on Sunday, April 12, 2026. That’s the day all 30 teams play, usually leading to absolute chaos for playoff seeding.
What about Cooper Flagg?
You can't talk about the 2025-26 start without mentioning the rookie. Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick, made his debut for the Dallas Mavericks on October 22, the night after the official start date.
He went up against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. It's rare for a rookie to live up to "generational" hype immediately, but Flagg fits right in. Watching a 19-year-old trade buckets with Wemby felt like a glimpse into the next decade of the league.
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The logistics of the 82-game grind
Every team still plays 82 games, but the way those games are distributed is kind of a puzzle. 80 games were set in stone when the schedule dropped in mid-August. The last two games for each team are determined by how they perform in the NBA Cup group stages.
If you're trying to catch games now that we're into 2026, the broadcast map has changed. You've got games split between:
- NBC and Peacock: Mostly Sunday nights and Tuesday doubleheaders.
- ESPN and ABC: The traditional Wednesday and Friday slots, plus the big Saturday primetime games.
- Amazon Prime Video: A new player in the game, taking over a chunk of the streaming rights.
Actionable insights for the rest of the season
If you’re tracking the standings or planning a trip to a game, keep these three things in mind:
First, check the "Cup" status. Games played on Tuesdays and Fridays in November counted for both the regular season record and the tournament. Since that's over, the focus shifts entirely to the race for the top six seeds to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
Second, watch the injury reports for the "Second Night of a Back-to-Back." The NBA has tried to reduce these, but they still exist. Teams like the Lakers and Suns have been cautious with their veteran stars during these stretches.
Third, the trade deadline is February 5, 2026. Expect the rumor mill to go into overdrive right after the new year as teams realize whether they are actual contenders or just fighting for a lottery pick.
The nba regular season start date might be in the rearview mirror, but the intensity usually picks up significantly after the All-Star break in mid-February. If you're looking to buy tickets, mid-week games in February and March usually offer the best value before prices spike for the April playoff push.