When Does NBA Season Start? Key Basketball Games Follow 2020-2021 Preseason Schedule

Basketball is back after only a brief, two-month hiatus. Preseason games start Friday night, which means the 2020-2021 regular season is right around the corner.

Ten teams kick off the exhibition schedule, including the defending champions. The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Los Angeles Clippers in the night’s biggest matchup, though LeBron James and Anthony Davis aren’t expected to play.

The New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks will all be on the court at 7 p.m. EST to tip off the very first games of the season.

The preseason will be brief, with each team playing no more than four contests. The exhibition schedule concludes on Dec. 19. Meaningful games start after a short two-day break.

A doubleheader of highly anticipated matchups kicks off the regular season on Dec. 22. The Golden State Warriors visit the Brooklyn Nets at 7 p.m. EST. The Lakers and Clippers will meet at 10 p.m. EST.

Kevin Durant will suit up for Brooklyn for the first time since signing with the Nets. Durant hasn’t played a game since he tore his Achilles as a member of the Warriors in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals.

For a second straight year, the two Los Angeles teams are the favorites in the West. The Clippers were upset in the second round of the playoffs, robbing basketball fans of the expected all-LA conference finals.

The other 26 NBA teams will play their first regular-season games on Dec. 23.

Each team is scheduled to play 72 games instead of a traditional 82-game schedule. Only the first half of the schedule, starting on Dec. 22 and ending on March 4, has been released.

The second half of the season will start on March 11 and conclude on May 16.