Just as one major event closes with the conclusion of Summer League, the National Basketball Association gets us closer to its milestone season.
The league on Wednesday revealed thirteen matchups, all of which will be shown nationally in the United States, with the remaining portion of the schedule to be known this weekend. This includes games that are to celebrate the NBA's 75th season.
Eight of the matchups are part of the Kia NBA Tip-Off 2021 that involve twelve teams, with three rematches from last season's playoffs as well as the last eight Most Valuable Player awardees.
On October 19 (20 in Manila), the league will kick off its historic campaign with the freshly-minted champions Milwaukee Bucks hosting the Brooklyn Nets. The Bucks outlasted the Nets in seven games for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals, and are very eager to showcase their first championship banner in fifty years against one of perceived favorites for the upcoming season.
That game will be followed by the Golden State Warriors visiting the Los Angeles Lakers, a rematch of one of the games in the inaugural edition of the Play-In Tournament. The hosts managed to defeat the visitors, 103-100 to earn the seventh seed, but succumbed to the Phoenix Suns in six games in the first round.
On October 20 (21 in Manila), the aforementioned Suns will host the Denver Nuggets in a rematch of their Conference Semifinal matchup, while Ime Udoka will make his head coaching debut with the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden versus the New York Knicks.
October 21 (22 in Manila) will feature the Atlanta Hawks hosting the Dallas Mavericks, in the latest chapter of the intertwined history between Trae Young and Luka Doncic. Also. the Los Angeles Clippers are headed to the Chase Center to face the Warriors.The final set of confirmed Kia Tip-Off matches as of now is slated for October 22, the Nets travel to Philadelphia to face the 76ers, while Suns and Lakers revisit their matchup at Staples Center.
For Christmas (December 26 in Manila), the NBA is once again setting up a five-game slate.
Opening things up on their 74th edition of the holiday games is the Hawks visiting the Knicks, a first round meeting last postseason that got some notoriety with Trae Young against the raucous fans at MSG. It also marks the first time Atlanta is playing on this day since 1989, ending a drought that had been the longest among all the thirty NBA teams.
The Celtics will head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks, followed by the Suns hosting the Warriors. The much-anticipated star-studded matchup between the Lakers and Nets will take place in Los Angeles, whilst the Utah Jazz get to stay home and face the Mavericks.
The NBA also reiterated key dates on its 2021-22 season, with the league holding its 2022 All-Star Game in Cleveland on February 20 (21 in Manila). The regular season ends on April 10 (11 in Manila), with the Play-In Tournament taking place on April 12-15 (13-16 in Manila), followed by the postseason kick-off on April 16 (17 in Manila).
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