Update #1, 1:04 pm: The NBA has announced that they’ll release the full schedule on Monday, August 12 at 3:00 pm EST.
Although it hasn’t been formally announced, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that opening day of the 2019-20 NBA schedule is expected to be October 22.
Such an opener, on the fourth Tuesday of the month, would come after back-to-back seasons in which the campaign began a week earlier in the month of October. In 2017-18 and 2019-20, the campaign began on the 17th and 16th, respectively.
Per Charania, this year’s opening day NBA matchups will include two games, one between the defending champion Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Pelicans, the other between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
The slightly later opening day pushes the start date closer to where it has existed historically, in late-October and early-November. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer tweets that another factor in the delay is this year’s FIBA World Cup, which runs from August 31 to September 15.
The release date for the 2019-20 schedule is August 12, a date in line with recent years. The full 2018-19 schedule was revealed on Friday, August 10, 2018 and the year prior was released on Monday, August 14, 2017. The 2016-17 schedule was revealed on Thursday, August 11, 2016.
With no direct correlation between the schedule reveal and the ultimate opening day, it’s hard to pinpoint when to expect the official schedule but it’s safe to assume that there’s a good chance we’ll have it by this time next week. (See! It’s Aug. 12).
At this stage in the process, franchises have been given a draft of the 2019-20 NBA schedule and have a window of time to request minor alterations.
A number of marquee matchups have already come to light ahead of the official schedule, including the Christmas Day slate. Our own Chris Crouse broke down those matchups in our Christmas Day 2019 NBA schedule preview but here are the specs.
| Away | Home |
| BOS | TOR |
| MIL | PHI |
| NOP | DEN |
| HOU | GSW |
| LAC* | LAL* |
*It hasn’t been revealed which of these teams will be the home team.
Other notable 2019-20 NBA matchups have been unearthed including a series of revenge games that Shams Charania of The Athletic reported earlier this week.
| Date | Away | Home | Note |
| Nov. 14 | DAL | NYK | Porzingis returns |
| Nov. 15 | UTA | MEM | Conley returns |
| Nov. 27 | BKL | BOS | Irving returns |
| Nov. 27 | LAL | NOP | Davis returns |
| Dec. 11 | LAC | TOR | Leonard returns |
| Jan. 9 | HOU | OKC | Westbrook returns |
