The 2025-26 NBA schedule unfolds with a first-week blockbuster: Durant returns to Oklahoma City on opening night as Houston visits the Thunder, a banner-raising backdrop fueling a marquee start for both teams. The slate keeps delivering high-stakes drama—from a Dallas-Mavericks-Spurs mini-renaissance featuring Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, and Victor Wembanyama to a Christmas showdown in New York between the Knicks and Cavaliers that belts with star power. Throughout, the league leans into rosters rebuilt around youth movement and veteran splash, promising fantasy-friendly opportunities as players chase fresh glory.

Key early-season tests shape the calendar: OKC’s title-or-bust vibe clashes with Durant’s Rockets; Flagg and Wembanyama enter a rivalry-forwarded clash in Dallas; a Pacers rebuild meets OKC in Indy with Tyrese Haliburton sidelined; Nets face a Cavaliers squad that owned the regular season last year; Durant’s reunions with former teams dot the schedule, adding narrative fuel to fantasy workloads. The Christmas card—Cavaliers at Knicks—feels like a title preview, as Brunson, Towns, Mitchell, and Mobley showcase top-tier offensive firepower. By February, the OKC-Jokic duel and the SGA-MVP-era vibes push the season toward early benchmarks and broken-roster bets.