While the NBA is announcing its complete schedule on Friday, they began announced the Opening Week and Christmas Day games and to no surprise, the Los Angeles Lakers will be heavily involved.
The Lakers will be a part of the NBA’s Opening Night, taking on the Golden State Warriors in a rematch of this past year’s Play-In Tournament. The game is set for 7 p.m. PT at Staples Center on Tuesday, Oct. 19 and will be the second game of a TNT doubleheader with the first being the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks playing the Brooklyn Nets.
L.A.’s second game of the season will also be during the NBA’s Opening Week when they host the Phoenix Suns on Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. PT on ESPN in what will be a rematch of the first round of the 2021 postseason.
Then on Christmas, the Lakers will play the Nets in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season. The NBA will have five Christmas Day games this year with Lakers-Nets being the fourth game at 5 p.m. PT on ABC and ESPN.
Here is the complete schedule for the NBA’s Opening Week and Christmas Day this year:
Lakers will host Steph Curry and the Warriors on opening night (Tues. Oct. 19) at the Staples Center: pic.twitter.com/Amci4CTzFG
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) August 17, 2021
Lakers will play on two of the first four nights of the 2021-22 NBA season. Face the Warriors on Oct. 19 and the Suns on Oct. 22: pic.twitter.com/EAsZr2IdiV
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) August 17, 2021
NBA's Christmas Day schedule. Nets @ Lakers as expected: pic.twitter.com/FercuJvY33
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) August 17, 2021
The Lakers typically lead the league in national TV game appearances and if this schedule release is any indication, that will again be the case this season.
That comes as no surprise after their blockbuster acquisition of Russell Westbrook, pairing the triple-double king and former MVP with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Lakers’ roster also has other big-name players like Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, making for some interesting storylines going into this season.
Lakers thank former players
With the Lakers essentially remodeling their entire roster this summer, that means a number of players from last year’s roster as well as the one that won the championship in 2020 will not be back with the team.
The organization recently took to social media to thank those players, calling them Lakers forever.
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