We are still months away from NBA basketball, unfortunately, as I count down the 50 days until we see Luka Dončić and LeBron James take on the Suns for the first preseason game in Palm Desert. But the anticipation for the new season just got amplified with the 2025-26 schedules dropping on Thursday afternoon.
Update your screens, Lakers basketball is back.@delta | 📆 pic.twitter.com/4hDoPrrjz3
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) August 14, 2025
Your Los Angeles Lakers rank first in the NBA with 34 nationally televised games, tied with the Warriors, Knicks, and reigning champion Thunder. But wait—what about back-to-backs? Notable road trips? Home stints?
Here are some important notes:
Back-to-backs: The Lakers will have 14 this season—one more than last year—with three requiring no travel at home and three coming from NorCal to SoCal. They also have a short travel game from New Orleans to San Antonio in early Jan., making half of them a relatively light travel load.
Road trips: Three stretches of five games (or more) away from Crypto.com Arena. The longest run is from Jan. 20 to Feb. 3, an eight-game trip. Their last big road stint comes March 16–25, with six games away during a critical playoff push.
Home Stands: The Lakers catch a break in one of their home stands, playing eight games immediately after their eight-game road trip. They also have two five-game home stands, one at the start of Christmas and the other at the start of March, playing seven of eight games at home to start the month.
Busy months: The Lakers play the most games in March (17 games—10 home, 7 away) and Jan. (16 games—10 away, 6 home).
Rest breaks: Over the grind of an 82-game season, rest is, and I can’t stress this enough, golden. L.A. gets a breather in mid-November—just one home game against Utah over a seven-day span (Nov. 16–22). An importance as James will be playing his 23rd season in the association.
Holiday Games
The Lakers will be home for most major holidays. The only road holiday game will be in Memphis on Halloween. They host their Christmas Day matchup against the Rockets and won’t have to travel for games after Thanksgiving or New Year’s Day.
This Christmas marks the Lakers’ 52nd game played on the holiday, their 27th straight year doing so. They’ve won 25 Christmas games—tied for the most in NBA history.
Televised Networks
Amazon leads the way with 10 games on Prime among the Lakers’ 34 prime-time matchups. ESPN and NBC will each air seven, followed by six on ABC and four on Peacock.
Notable nationally televised games include the season opener against the Warriors on NBC (Oct. 21), followed by a playoff rematch against the Timberwolves on Prime (Oct. 24), the Christmas Day showdown with the Rockets on ABC (Dec. 25), and the February 22 clash with the Celtics on Prime.
Keep an eye out for the Lakers versus Mavericks first matchup—and a Luka "petty outing"—on Jan. 24 (on ABC) and Feb. 1, when they head to MSG to take on the Knicks on NBC.
Pat Riley Statue Announcement
The Lakers also announced the statue unveiling of legendary head coach Pat Riley. The ceremony will take place Feb. 22, when they host the Boston Celtics at Crypto.com Arena—making it the franchise’s eighth statue at Star Plaza.
Riley coached the Lakers for nine seasons (1981–90) during the “Showtime” era, winning four NBA championships in 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. He posted an impressive 533-194 regular-season record and a 102-47 playoff record in that span. Riley was part of six Lakers championship teams as a coach and player, playing for the franchise for six seasons.