The official schedule for the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2021-22 regular season has been officially announced as the Lakers will look to reclaim their spot at the top of the NBA world by winning their 18th NBA Championship. Things will get started for LeBron James, Anthony Davis and company on opening night as the Lakers host the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, October 19.
The Lakers at home will be a theme to start the season as 12 of the team’s first 15 games will take place at Staples Center. This includes a meeting with the Phoenix Suns, who, of course, eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs last season, on October 22nd, as well as the return of Alex Caruso to Los Angeles for the first time as a member of the Chicago Bulls on November 15.
The full 2021-22 NBA schedule for the Lakers has been revealed: pic.twitter.com/T77RWpKRFL
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) August 20, 2021
The Lakers’ first real road trip of the season kicks off immediately after that, and it starts with a huge matchup against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the defending NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks on November 17. Then, two days later, the Lakers will make their lone trip to Boston to face the rival Celtics. The Celtics will be making their return trip to L.A. just a couple of weeks Later on December 7, while Milwaukee will be in Los Angeles in February.
Perhaps the most anticipated game of the entire NBA season will take place on Christmas Day when the Lakers host the Brooklyn Nets in a potential NBA Finals preview that many hope comes to fruition this season. Just a couple of weeks earlier, on December 3, we will see the Lakers and Clippers square off for the first time as that rivalry continues to grow more and more intense.
With such a home-heavy early portion of the schedule, the second half of the season will see the Lakers on the road a lot. This includes a six-game road trip at the end of January, their longest of the season, with five of those games against teams expected to at least contend for playoff spots in the East, including the Nets, 76ers, Hornets, Hawks, and Heat.
The end of the season will also see no breaks with a stretch of seven of eight games at the end of March being away from home for the Lakers, which includes meetings with the Mavericks and Jazz and Russell Westbrook’s return to Washington D.C. to face the Wizards. The final week of the season is brutal and includes road games against the Suns and Warriors and the season’s final game in Denver against the Nuggets.
As expected, the Lakers will be one of the most visible teams in the NBA, with 42 of their games being on national TV. This includes 13 on TNT and four games on ABC.