NBA releases 2019-20 regular season schedule
Written by News on 12/08/2019
The NBA has released its complete game schedule for the 2019-20 regular season. The league’s 74th regular season will tip off on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 and conclude on Wednesday, April 15, 2020.
On opening night, LeBron James and Anthony Davis will face Kawhi Leonard and – if fit – Paul George as the Los Angeles Lakers face the LA Clippers. No 1 draft pick Zion Williamson will also be in action as the New Orleans Pelicans visit defending NBA champions the Toronto Raptors.
Leonard, who led the Raptors to their maiden NBA title in June, will return to Toronto with the Clippers on December 11.
The Golden State Warriors, who lost Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets in free agency, face a stern test of their revamped roster on October 24 when they host the Clippers.
The following day, 2018-19 Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks will face off against Williamson and the Pelicans in New Orleans.
Defending regular-season MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, bested by Leonard in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, will get another crack at Kawhi on November 6 when the Milwaukee Bucks visit the Clippers.
Instances of teams playing games on back-to-back days will be an all-time low for the fifth straight season. Teams will play an average of four back-to-backs in the 2019-20 season, down 36 per cent since the 2014-15 season (19.3 per team) and a seven per cent reduction from last season (13.3 per team).
For the third season in a row, no team is scheduled to play a stretch with four games in five days.
A record 48 games will air in primetime in Europe with 24 games each on Saturday and Sunday. European fans will have a full slate of primetime games on both Saturday and Sunday for the first time.
Schedule highlights
Christmas Day
The NBA will feature five games on Christmas Day for the 12th year in a row.
- Boston Celtics @ Toronto Raptors (5pm UK time)
- Milwaukee Bucks @ Philadelphia 76ers (7:30pm UK time)
- Houston Rockets @ Golden State Warriors (10pm UK time)
- LA Clippers @ Los Angeles Lakers (1:30am UK time)
- New Orleans Pelicans @ Denver Nuggets (3:30 UK time)
Martin Luther King Jr Day
An extensive slate of games will be spread across Martin Luther King Jr Day, Monday, January 20, 2020. These include:
- Toronto Raptors @ Atlanta Hawks (7:30pm UK time)
- New Orleans Pelicans @ Memphis Grizzlies (10pm UK time)
- Los Angeles Lakers @ Boston Celtics (12:30am UK time)
- Golden State Warriors @ Portland Trail Blazers (3am UK time)
The All-Star break will begin on February 14 with the 2020 All-Star game on February 16 in Chicago. The league will be on a break with no games from February 14-19. Every team will have at least seven days off.
The schedule also features a record 48 primetime games for Europe (afternoon start times in North America, primetime for European time zones), and the first-ever slate of Saturday primetime games for Europe.
The regular season concludes on April 15 with 26 of the 30 teams in action that night.
Sky Sports will announce its selection of live NBA games in September.
(c) Sky Sports 2019: NBA releases 2019-20 regular season schedule
