The NBA Wednesday released its complete game schedule and broadcast schedules for TNT, ESPN, ABC, NBA TV and NBA on ESPN Radio for the 2015-16 regular season, which features an opening night with the reigning champion Golden State Warriors receiving their championship rings before hosting the New Orleans Pelicans.
In this schedule, the stretches of four games in five nights and instances of back-to-back games have been reduced to all-time lows, with four-in-fives cut to an average of less than one per team.
The NBA's 70th season begins on Tuesday, Oct. 27. In the first game, LeBron James and the reigning Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers visit new NBA head coach Fred Hoiberg and the Chicago Bulls (8 p.m. ET). The second game follows league tradition of showcasing the defending champions at home on opening night, with 2014-15 NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry and the Warriors receiving their rings in a nationally televised ceremony before taking on Anthony Davis and the Pelicans (10:30 p.m. ET).
Another feature of the schedule is a five-game showcase on Christmas Day, headlined by a 2015 Finals rematch between the Cavaliers and Warriors in Oakland, Calif., at 5 p.m. ET on ABC. That matchup follows games between the Pelicans and Heat in Miami (12 p.m. ET, ESPN) and the Bulls and Thunder in Oklahoma City (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC). Two more games on ESPN complete the quintet on Friday, Dec. 25, with the Spurs visiting the Rockets (8 p.m. ET) and the Clippers and Lakers meeting at Staples Center in a Lakers home game (10:30 p.m. ET).
Full 2015-16 NBA schedule