We are still months away from the NBA season beginning, but we can now do some planning.
On Wednesday, the league released the schedules for all 30 teams. That means we now know who the Warriors will be playing on ring night, which teams will go head-to-head on Christmas Day, when players will make their long-awaited returns to play against their former teams and much, much more.
While there are a lot of games to be excited about, here are 10 I have circled.
NBA schedule 2022: Ranking the 10 best games on the calendar
10. Magic at Thunder
Date: Nov. 1
The first of many meetings to come between Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren, the top two picks in the 2022 NBA Draft.
TSN's draft expert Kyle Irving thinks Banchero has the makings of an All-NBA type of player, and Holmgren is one of the most unique prospects we've seen in a long time — a 7-footer who blocks a boatload of shots and cans 3s with ease.
Expect to see them both put their potential on full display as they face off for the first time.
MORE: What we learned about Banchero from NBA Summer League
9. Zion Williamson's return
Date: Oct. 19?
Williamson proved himself to be must-see TV in the 2020-21 season. Appearing in 61 games, he earned the first All-Star selection of his career with averages of 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game on 61.1 percent shooting from the field.
Williamson dominated the paint like Shaq, showed off some impressive passing chops and, well, put together a career's worth of highlights in one season.
No, seriously.
Unfortunately, Williamson missed the entire 2021-22 season after undergoing foot surgery. It's still unknown exactly when he will return, but he was recently cleared to play without restrictions. Fingers crossed that means he's on track to play in game No. 1, which is against the Nets on Oct. 19.
8. Lakers at Cavaliers
Date: Dec. 6
It's always a show when LeBron James returns to Cleveland. Adding to the intrigue is that the Cavaliers are finally building something special without him. Jarrett Allen, 24, and Darius Garland, 22, were named All-Stars last season, and Evan Mobley, 21, has all of the makings of a future star.
Don't sleep on Cleveland's future.
7. Nets at 76ers
Date: Nov. 22
Ah yes, the long-awaited Ben Simmons return game.
The No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Simmons became a three-time All-Star and one-time member of the All-NBA team in Philadelphia, but his time with the franchise didn't exactly end on the best of terms, sparked by perhaps the most talked about passed up layup in NBA history.
Even if Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are no longer on the Nets, all eyes will be on this game.
You know Philly fans have been waiting for this one.
MORE: How Simmons went from top pick to Philadelphia's biggest enemy
6. Nuggets at 76ers
Date: Jan. 28
Remember when people thought centers were becoming extinct? Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid had something to say about that.
Jokic has taken home the last two MVP awards, joining a short list of players in NBA history to go back-to-back. Coming off of a season that saw him average a career-high and league-best 30.6 points per game, Embiid has finished runner-up to Jokic in MVP voting in each of the last two seasons.
With Jokic being in the Western Conference and Embiid being in the Eastern Conference, the two superstars play each other twice a season. And due to injuries, we've only seen them share the court six times since they were drafted in 2014.
Don't take any matchup between the two-best centers in the NBA for granted.
5. Mavericks at Suns
Date: Oct. 19
The last time the Mavericks and Suns met was, uh, memorable.
Tied at 3-3 in the second round of the playoffs, the Suns hosted the Mavericks for Game 7 and proceeded to lose by 33 points, making for one of the largest margins of victory ever on that stage.
It'll be interesting to see how the Suns rebound from such an embarrassing loss in general — will it break them apart or bring them closer together? — but their first meeting of the season with the Mavericks will give them an opportunity for some good ol' fashioned revenge.
It helps that there's no shortage of star power in this matchup. Luka Doncic, Devin Booker and Chris Paul are among the best players in the league, and the Suns are expecting big things out of Deandre Ayton after matching a four-year, $132.9 million offer sheet for him this offseason.
4. Bucks at Celtics
Date: Dec. 25
If you need to be reminded of what Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged in Milwaukee's second-round series with Boston in the 2022 NBA Playoffs: 33.9 points, 14.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game.
Pure and utter dominance.
Giannis was a BEAST in the Eastern Conference Semis, averaging 33.9 PPG, 14.7 RPG, and 7.1 APG 🦌
— NBA (@NBA) May 16, 2022
Check out some of his best plays from the series against the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/cThmkYvJ1V
The Celtics came out on top in seven hard-fought games, of course, but the Bucks were without their second-leading scorer in Khris Middleton, who was sidelined with a knee injury. Many believe the Bucks would've come out on top had Middleton been healthy.
We can only hope for a playoff rematch to settle the debate, but for now, this regular-season matchup — on Christmas Day, no less — will do.
3. Grizzlies at Warriors
Date: Dec. 25
Not only did the Grizzlies and Warriors battle in the second round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs, but a healthy amount of trash talk has been exchanged in the months since.
First, Klay Thompson called Jaren Jackson Jr. out for his "Strength in numbers" tweet.
"I can't wait to retweet that thing. Freakin' bum."
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) June 17, 2022
Klay's been keeping receipts 🤣 pic.twitter.com/WJReCAVukK
Then, Ja Morant got Draymond Green going with a rather simple tweet.
We traded that real estate in @JaMorant the property value was higher in Boston https://t.co/X7Du6zSiZF
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) June 19, 2022
Yeah, both teams will have this game circled.
Beyond the brewing rivalry, few matchups are as exciting as Stephen Curry vs. Ja Morant. Curry is still the best point guard in the league, but Morant is quickly rising up the rankings, one ja-dropping play at a time. They're both practically unguardable but in very different ways.
This will mark the first time the Grizzlies have ever played on Christmas Day.
2. Warriors at Celtics
Date: Jan. 19
A rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals, which saw the Warriors win their fourth title in eight seasons and Stephen Curry win his first Finals MVP award with a masterful showing.
Between Klay Thompson being further removed from his injuries and the development of their young guys, the Warriors have reason to believe they could be even better next season. The Celtics do too. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are still only scratching the surface of their potential, and Boston plugged all of its holes by trading for Malcolm Brogdon and signing Danilo Gallinari this offseason.
The NBA is so loaded right now that it's hard to predict which teams will make it to the Finals, but the Warriors and Celtics returning to the mountaintop wouldn't come as a huge surprise.
MORE: The Celtics threw everything at Curry, and he still destroyed them
1. LeBron James becomes all-time leading scorer
Date: TBD
Last season, we got to see Stephen Curry become the NBA's all-time leader in 3-pointers made. This season, we might get to see LeBron James become the league's all-time leading scorer.
James enters the 2022-23 season with 37,062 career points, putting him 1,326 points away from passing NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list. Will he catch him? Almost certainly.
If James scores at the rate he did in 2020-21 (25.0 points per game), it'll take him 54 games to break Cap's record. If he scores at the rate he did in 2021-22 (30.3 points per game), it'll take him 44 games. Even if he averages a career-low 20 points, he would have to appear in only 67 games.
In other words, the only thing that could prevent James from taking over the top spot at this point is injuries. If he can stay moderately healthy, we should witness history.
You wouldn't want to miss that, would you?
