NBA announces 2022-23 league schedule, Boston to open season vs Philadelphia

The NBA on Wednesday, revealed the complete 2022-23 league schedule. The Boston Celtics will play the Philadelphia 76ers on opening night. 

All 30 teams will play on April 9, the final day of the regular season, with game times at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Eastern. The play-in tournament starts April 11 and the playoffs begin April 15.

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A look at some of the key dates for the league this coming season

TEAM OPENERS

A list of the season openers, by team:

Atlanta Hawks: Oct. 19, Houston

Boston Celtics: Oct. 18, Philadelphia (NBA opening night)

Brooklyn Nets: Oct. 19, New Orleans

Charlotte Hornets: Oct. 19, at San Antonio

Chicago Bulls: Oct. 19, at Miami

Cleveland Cavaliers: Oct. 19, at Toronto

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Dallas Mavericks: Oct. 19, at Phoenix

Denver Nuggets: Oct. 19, at Utah

Detroit Pistons: Oct. 19, Orlando

Golden State Warriors: Oct. 18, Los Angeles Lakers (NBA opening night)

Houston Rockets: Oct. 19, at Atlanta

Indiana Pacers: Oct. 19, Washington

Los Angeles Clippers: Oct. 20, at Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers: Oct. 18, at Golden State

Memphis Grizzlies: Oct. 19, New York

Miami Heat: Oct. 19, Chicago

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Milwaukee Bucks: Oct. 20, at Philadelphia

Minnesota Timberwolves: Oct. 19, Oklahoma City

New Orleans Pelicans: Oct. 19, at Brooklyn

New York Knicks: Oct. 19, at Memphis

Oklahoma City Thunder: Oct. 19, at Minnesota

Orlando Magic: Oct. 19, at Detroit

Philadelphia 76ers: Oct. 18, at Boston

Phoenix Suns: Oct. 19, Dallas

Portland Trail Blazers: Oct. 19, at Sacramento

Sacramento Kings: Oct. 19, Portland

San Antonio Spurs: Oct. 19, Charlotte

Toronto Raptors: Oct. 19, Cleveland

Utah Jazz: Oct. 19, Denver

Washington Wizards: Oct. 19, at Indiana

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT NIGHT

The NBA will have all 30 teams playing on Nov. 7, in advance of no teams playing on Nov. 8 because of Election Day. And the 15 games on Nov. 7 all have a different start time, staggered to begin 15 minutes apart.

The list (all times Eastern):

Washington at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Houston at Orlando, 7:15 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

New Orleans at Indiana, 7:45 p.m.

Phoenix at Philadelphia, 8 p.m.

Milwaukee at Atlanta, 8:15 p.m.

Portland at Miami, 8:30 p.m.

Toronto at Chicago, 8:45 p.m.

Boston at Memphis, 9 p.m.

New York at Minnesota, 9:15 p.m.

Denver at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.

Brooklyn at Dallas, 9:45 p.m.

Sacramento at Golden State, 10 p.m.

L.A. Lakers at Utah, 10:15 p.m.

Cleveland at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

CHRISTMAS GAMES

For the 15th consecutive year, the league will have five games on Christmas Day.

The list (all times Eastern):

Philadelphia at New York, Noon

L.A. Lakers at Dallas, 2:30 p.m.

Milwaukee at Boston, 5 p.m.

Memphis at Golden State, 8 p.m.

Phoenix at Denver, 10:30 p.m.

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY

As is tradition, there is a full slate of games on the holiday celebrating the life of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with the Jan. 16 schedule highlighted by home games in Atlanta (the city where he was born) and Memphis (the city where he died).

The list (all times Eastern):

Boston at Charlotte, 1 p.m.

Indiana at Milwaukee, 2:30 p.m.

New Orleans at Cleveland, 3 p.m.

Toronto at New York, 3 p.m.

Golden State at Washington, 3 p.m.

Miami at Atlanta, 3:30 p.m.

Utah at Minnesota, 4 p.m.

Phoenix at Memphis, 6 p.m.

Houston at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

FINALS REMATCHES

Golden State topped Boston in six games in last season’s NBA Finals. The schedule for their head-to-head meetings this season (all times Eastern):

Boston at Golden State, Dec. 10, 8:30 p.m.

Golden State at Boston, Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m.

RIVALS WEEK

Another new twist this season: NBA Rivals Week.

The league is billing these as “Classic and Budding Rivalries” to be played between Jan. 24 and Jan. 28. It has some playoff rematches, some longstanding rivalries getting renewed, a showdown of two of the game’s top centers in Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, and even a marquee brother vs. brother matchup — Lonzo Ball and LaMelo Ball going head-to-head.

The list:

Jan. 24: Boston at Miami, L.A. Clippers at L.A. Lakers.

Jan. 25: Brooklyn at Philadelphia, Memphis at Golden State.

Jan. 26: Chicago at Charlotte, Dallas at Phoenix.

Jan. 27: Memphis at Minnesota, Toronto at Golden State.

Jan. 28: Denver at Philadelphia, New York at Brooklyn, L.A. Lakers at Boston.

SPECIAL SITES

The NBA will play five games outside of the league’s typical home arenas this season. The list (all times Eastern):

Dec. 17: Miami vs. San Antonio, at Mexico City, 4 p.m.

Jan. 13: Golden State vs. San Antonio, at Alamodome in San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 19: Chicago vs. Detroit, at Paris, 9 p.m.

April 6: Portland vs. San Antonio, at Austin, Texas, 8 p.m.

April 8: Minnesota vs. San Antonio, at Austin, Texas, 4 p.m.

NO GAMES

In addition to Nov. 8 for Election Day, the NBA has no games planned on the following dates:

Nov. 24: Thanksgiving

Dec. 24: Christmas Eve

Feb. 17-22: All-Star break (All-Star weekend is Feb. 17-19 in Salt Lake City)

April 3: NCAA men’s Division I national championship game