For the past 20 years, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers have been practically synonymous. But, on Opening Night, October 26th, the purple and gold will officially usher in their new era of Lakers basketball, spotlighted around their fresh, young core.
With a fresh identity also comes different games to circle on your calendar and new matchups to be excited about. Rather than looking forward to Bryant’s final game against Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James or Tim Duncan, it’s time to start getting amped about Brandon Ingram‘s first game against Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers or Luke Walton‘s first game against the Golden State Warriors. How will the backcourt duo of D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson fare against Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum?
Watch our 2016-2017 schedule breakdown above not only to circle all the best matchups, but also to see what this season has in store. What’s the Lakers longest road trip this season? How many miles will they travel? How many games a week do they average? How many back-to-backs and what’s the longest distance traveled in those back-to-backs? It’s all in our video above.