The NBA season is officially upon us as opening night tips off on October 24. The NBA will see a two-game slate that evening, featuring the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets at 7:30 p.m. ET followed by the Phoenix Suns vs. Golden State Warriors at 10 p.m. ET. TNT will host the doubleheader.
The Nuggets will begin their title defense as they host the Lakers. It’s fitting as the Lakers will be looking for redemption after the Nuggets swept them in the Western Conference Finals last season. The Nuggets are bringing back the bulk of their core that won the title last season, while the Lakers are mostly fully intact aside from losing Dennis Schroder (Raptors), Lonnie Walker (Nets), and Malik Beasley (Bucks).
The Warriors will host the Suns in a highly anticipated matchup that will see Chris Paul face off against his former team. CP3, after being traded to the Wizards from Phoenix this offseason, was sent to the Warriors while Golden State sent a package in return that included Jordan Poole. The initial trade saw the Suns sending Chris Paul and Landry Shamet to Washington in exchange for Bradley Beal. More recently, Phoenix traded away Deandre Ayton to the Trail Blazers and received Jusuf Nurkic in return as new head coach Frank Vogel continues to build his roster.