2021-22 NBA Opening Night and Christmas Schedule: Date, time and where to watch

After a riveting summer league campaign that saw multiple potentially elite draftees, the NBA today released the national television schedule for the opening week and Christmas fixtures for the 2021-22 season. The 2021-22 NBA season will tip off on 19th October with two blockbuster matchups from either conference.

In the East, NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks will take on the Brooklyn Nets in a rematch of the Eastern Conference semifinals. In the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors will be up against LeBron James’ LA Lakers in what is a rematch of their play-in fixture. In this article, we look at all the details about the aforementioned fixtures.

A range of stars will be involved on the opening day

NBA Opening Night Schedule

The first week of the 2021-22 NBA season will feature a total of 12 teams, along with all eight finalists from the 2021 MVP award. After two blockbuster fixtures on opening day, the Boston Celtics will take on the New York Knicks in the East, while 2021 MVP Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets will take on championship finalists the Phoenix Suns.

Date and Time	Match	TV
Tuesday, 19/10/21, 7:30 PM ET	Brooklyn Nets vs Milwaukee Bucks	TNT
Tuesday, 19/10/21, 10:00 PM	Golden State Warriors vs LA Lakers	TNT

The NBA will tip off it's landmark 75th Anniversary Season on Tuesday, October 19. Time to mark the calendar! 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/4ghwVhlQ5Y

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 17, 2021

On 21st October, 2018 draftees Luka Doncic and Trae Young will go head-to-head while the Golden State Warriors will return to take on Kawhi Leonard’s LA Clippers in the West. THe last two fixtures are scheduled for Friday, October 22nd. The Brooklyn Nets will be up against Philadelphia 76ers while LeBron James will get a chance to get some kind of revenge after getting knocked out by the Suns last time around.

NBA Christmas Day Schedule

The Christmas day fixtures were also released at the same time, and can be seen below. As always, a number of high-profile matches are scheduled, with the most enticing being the one between the LA Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets.

Date and Time	Match	TV
Saturday, 25/12/21, 12:00 PM ET	Atlanta Hawks vs New York Knicks	ESPN
Saturday, 25/12/21, 2:30 PM ET	Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks	ABC
Saturday, 25/12/21, 5 PM ET	Golden State Warriors vs Pheonix Suns	ABC
Saturday, 25/12/21, 8 PM ET	Brooklyn Nets vs Phoenix Suns	ESPN/ABC
Saturday, 25/12/21, 10:30 PM ET	Dallas Mavericks vs Utah Jazz	ESPN

Here’s the NBA opening week schedule and the Christmas Day schedule: pic.twitter.com/Ecav4aqvNr

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) August 17, 2021

The matchup will feature a range of former teammates going head-to-head, with Irving taking on LeBron, while Russell Westbrook will play against the likes of Kevin Durant and James Harden. The match is just one of five fixtures announced along with national television schedules for each.