The NBA recently gave the fans a glimpse of the 2025-26 calendar. And just like every other season, there are so many games to look forward to for different reasons.
After winning the 2024-25 Larry O’Brien trophy, the Thunder will hoist their championship banner on opening night at their home floor. Following the ceremony, they’ll take on a familiar face on their first home game of the campaign.
A few days later, the Thunder will visit the Pacers for a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals. However, it’ll be under much different circumstances, as Indiana won’t have two of their top players from their last playoff series.
Of course, there are the Christmas Day games that fans can’t wait to watch. However, the Celtics, the 2024 champions, may take it as a form of disrespect that they’re not included in the schedule for the first time in a long while.
Without further ado, SBOTOP lists some of the top matches on the menu.
Houston Rockets @ Oklahoma City Thunder (October 21)
The Thunder won their second title in franchise history after beating the Pacers in a grueling seven-game series last season. After years of knocking on the door, Oklahoma City will finally raise a championship banner at Paycom Center, with an old friend in sight.
Kevin Durant and the Rockets will visit town, and it’ll be interesting to see how the home fans will react to his presence. In case you forgot, in the summer of 2016, Durant angered Oklahoma City fans after leaving them for Golden State, where he won two championships and Finals MVPs.
The Rockets are among the biggest winners this offseason, following their shrewd moves. They handed Ime Udoka a contract extension after he led the team to a Top 2 seed in the Western Conference, and Houston also re-signed Steven Adams, Aaron Holiday, Jeff Green, Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., and Jae’Sean Tate to new contracts. Besides acquiring Durant in a historic seven-team deal, they also added Clint Capela, Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Okogie, and JD Davison.
Drama and emotions aside, there’s no better way for Houston to gauge their progress than by going up against the defending NBA champions.
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Indiana Pacers (October 23)
Speaking of the NBA Finals, the Thunder and the Pacers will face off in an anticipated rematch two days later. However, the early NBA 2025 odds are lopsided towards Oklahoma City because Indiana no longer have the same title-contending roster.
The hosts lost Tyrese Haliburton to an Achilles injury during Game 7, and the star point guard isn’t expected to return to the court soon. The Pacers also lost Myles Turner, their longest-tenured player, to the Bucks. This summer, Indiana traded for Jay Huff and re-signed Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman to multi-year contracts.
In stark contrast, the Thunder managed to keep their championship-winning core by handing lucrative extensions to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams, and Ajay Mitchell. Dillon Jones was the team’s only departure this free agency.
Milwaukee Bucks @ Indiana Pacers (November 3)
The Bucks made the bold move of waiving and stretching Damian Lillard’s contract to make room for the free agency signing of Myles Turner, who will make his Gainbridge Fieldhouse return on November 3. As a neutral, it’ll be interesting to see whether Turner will be cheered or booed by Indiana supporters. I’m guessing he’ll be cheered more than booed.
Indiana are responsible for ruining Milwaukee’s playoff chances, as they eliminated them in the first round in back-to-back seasons. With the Pacers undermanned, Giannis Antetokounmpo and co. can get a measure of revenge when they face off anew.
Besides adding Turner, Milwaukee signed Gary Harris to a two-year deal while re-signing Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr, Taurean Prince, Ryan Rollins, Chris Livingston, Jericho Sims, and Bobby Portis to new extensions. They also lost Pat Connaughton, Vasilije Micic, and Brook Lopez to free agency this offseason.
Cleveland Cavaliers @ New York Knicks (December 25)
The two favourites to qualify for the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers and Knicks, will convene at Madison Square Garden on December 25 to kick off the Christmas Day matches, and fans will undoubtedly get their fair share of NBA 2025 highlights.
The core four of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen will go up against Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and OG Anunoby. This matchup should give us a glimpse at which of these teams has the edge ahead of May or June.
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