The 2026-27 season is the start of a new era of Los Angeles Lakers basketball with superstar guard Luka Doncic firmly in place as the unquestioned face of the franchise. Of course, before the regular season gets going, the preseason must take place to get everyone warmed up for when things really kick off.
The Lakers are always a team that finds themselves on national TV more than basically any other team in the NBA and that’s not just in the regular season, but the preseason as well. The NBA released the complete preseason schedule and with only five games being broadcast nationally on ESPN networks, the Lakers will be appearing in two of those games:
The 2026 NBA Preseason composite schedule is below.
ESPN and ESPN2 will televise five matchups: Sacramento at the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 8; San Antonio at Phoenix on Oct. 10; an Oct. 11 doubleheader featuring Orlando at Cleveland and Chicago at Denver; and Denver at the Los… pic.twitter.com/JUoN20ISvA
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) September 9, 2026
Both games will be home contests at Crypto.com Arena with the first being against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 8. This will be the second preseason meeting between the two teams and also the third game in four nights to kick off the preseason for the Lakers as they actually have a back-to-back to start on Oct. 5 and 6.
The second contest is the Lakers’ final preseason game on Oct. 16 when they host the Denver Nuggets, who remain one of the team’s biggest rivals over the past few seasons. Every time these two teams meet, the energy is just a bit different and whether that will carry over into the preseason will be interesting. But with it being the final contest, the goal for both teams will be to make sure there are no injuries picked up going into the regular season.
Following that, the Lakers will have five days to get ready for their regular season opener when they host the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21. And like these two preseason games, that contest will also be airing on ESPN.
Robert Horry believes Walker Kessler is key to Lakers success this season
Much of the focus for the Lakers this season is on Doncic and whether he can lead this team into contention. But in the eyes of former player Robert Horry, it will be new center Walker Kessler who is the key to the Lakers’ success.
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