While opening night falls on Oct. 23, 2019, teams will officially begin their seasons when their training camps open in preparation for the regular season.
When does training camp begin? Similar to years past, dates vary depending on each team’s respective preseason schedule.
For the six teams participating in the preseason 2019 NBA Global Games, players are allowed to report to their team no earlier than 11 a.m. local time on Sept. 27, 2019. On Sept. 28, training camps open for all teams that are participating in the preseason NBA Global Games.
2019 Preseason NBA Global Games
- NBA India Games, Indiana Pacers vs. Sacramento Kings
- NBA Japan Games, Houston Rockets vs. Toronto Raptors
- NBA China Games, Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers
For the remaining 24 teams in the league, veteran players are allowed to report to their teams after 11 a.m. local time on Sept. 30. Training camps for these teams will begin on Oct. 1.
The preseason begins on Oct. 1 (5:30 AM IST) when the Rockets host the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association at the Toyota Center. The Sharks are one of eight international professional teams that will face an NBA team this preseason.
2019 Preseason International Teams
- Shanghai Sharks
- SESI/Franca
- Adelaide 36ers
- Maccabi Haifa
- San Lorenzo de Almagro
- Guangzhou Long-Lions
- New Zealand Breakers
- Melbourne United
From then, each NBA team will play between four and six exhibition games, with the preseason coming to a close on Oct. 19, giving each team a weekend to prepare for the opening week of the 2019-20 regular season.