We're still over two months away from the start of the new NBA season but we already have our Opening Night schedule.
The 2023-24 season is set to kick off on Tuesday, Oct. 24, and The Athletic's Shams Charania has reported the matchups for the first games of the season.
Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets will have their ring night at home in Denver against LeBron James and the Lakers in a rematch of the Western Conference Finals.
For the second part of the doubleheader, Kevin Durant will return to Golden State when the Suns take on Stephen Curry and the Warriors in San Francisco.
For more information on these star-studded Opening Night matchups, The Sporting News has you covered below.
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NBA Opening Night 2023
Nuggets vs. Lakers
- Date: Tuesday, Oct. 24
- Time: TBD
- TV Channel: TNT
The Nuggets will begin their title defense on Opening Night, as it has become a tradition for the reigning league champions to headline the first day of the new NBA season with ring night on their home floor.
Finals MVP Jokic, Jamal Murray and co. will take on James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers in a rematch of the 2022 Western Conference Finals.
The Nuggets made quick work of the Lakers to advance to their first NBA Finals in franchise history, pulling off a clean four-game sweep of Los Angeles.
There is no love lost between these two teams, as Nuggets head coach Michael Malone had plenty to say about the Lakers both during their series and after Denver had eliminated them from the playoffs.
When Malone kept talking about James and the Lakers during the Nuggets' championship parade, James responded through a caption on Instagram, writing, "In Europe for the last past few weeks minding my business and I hear I’m on your mind that much huh??? I mean I guess I see why."
LeBron will be looking forward to the chance to dethrone the defending champions to kick off the new season.
Warriors vs. Suns
- Date: Tuesday, Oct. 24
- Time: TBD
- TV Channel: TNT
There are a lot of juicy storylines in the second half of the 2023 NBA Opening Night doubleheader.
Believe it or not, Durant has not played a game at Golden State in front of fans since he left the Warriors back in 2019. He has only played in San Francisco once since his departure — a February game during the 2021-22 season when fans were still not allowed in the building because of COVID-19 restrictions.
The Warriors' faithful will finally have an opportunity to express their feelings toward Durant, be it through cheers for two championships and two Finals MVPs or boos for leaving when he did.
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While NBA fans should undoubtedly be excited to see stars like Curry and Devin Booker take the floor again, as well as Bradley Beal's Suns' debut, the other biggest storyline goes to Warriors guard Chris Paul.
Paul was on the verge of being cut by the Suns after Phoenix came up short again this past postseason. The front office elected to trade him to the Wizards for Beal, who then traded him to the Warriors for Jordan Poole.
Paul's Golden State debut will be a chance for revenge against his former franchise. This showdown will be worth staying awake for.
