The NBA on Christmas Day and Kia Tip Off ‘21 national TV schedules -- two of the marquee events of the NBA calendar -- were just announced.
And as we count down the days 'til the NBA returns, let’s check out the games that could give us some signature early Moments from next season.
On opening night, October 19, 2021, we will see the Brooklyn Nets play the Milwaukee Bucks in Milwaukee. A rematch of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Bucks will be presented their championship rings and unveil their banner.
The Nets, led by Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, will be looking to exact some revenge on the reigning champs in a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview.
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The other Opening Night game will feature the the Golden State Warriors against Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. There will be a lot of new faces since the last time these teams met in the Play-in tournament.
A blockbuster trade saw Russell Westbrook returning to play for a Southern California team for the first time since he was at UCLA, while vets Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard got on board. On the Golden State side, they will be returning Klay Thompson to the fold, which will raise up the Warriors to a legitimate Western Conference contender.
Additionally, the Warriors signed Andre Iguodala, Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica. Believe it or not, Klay Thompson does not have a Top Shot Moment yet. It’s possible that he misses this game, but the Warriors seem optimistic.
The other Opening Week national television games are:
October 20, 2021
Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks
Denver Nuggets vs. Phoenix Suns
October 21, 2021
Dallas Mavericks vs. Atlanta Hawks
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors
October 22, 2021
Brooklyn Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers
The NBA also released the always highly anticipated Christmas Day schedule, with 5 games starting at 9 AM PDT/12 PM EDT and continuing until the last start time at 7:30 PM PDT/10:30 PM EDT.
5 Featured Games
Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks
Trae Young returns to MSG. They will not be happy to see him. The Knicks are looking to go deeper in the playoffs this year and have added Kemba Walker...who LOVES MSG.
Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks
The Celtics sent Kemba Walker away and brought back Al Horford and Enes Kanter. They also added Josh Richardson, Kris Dunn and Dennis Schroder. The Bucks bring back Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Giannis and will look to show the world on Christmas Day that they are the team to beat in the East.
Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns
A possible Western Conference Finals preview. Currently predicted to be the second and third best teams in the Western Conference. Two extremely talented teams that both believe they can win the title. Booker and Paul vs. Steph and Klay. Must see TV.
Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Not the last game of Christmas Day but arguably the Main Event. LeBron and Anthony Davis will look to shut down Brooklyn’s big three. The Lakers and Nets are the current top two teams according to many sports outlets, so calling this a possible NBA finals preview is very accurate.
Dallas Mavericks vs. Utah Jazz
Luka Doncic vs. Donovan Mitchell. This will be an extremely fun night cap to close out Christmas Day.
Series 2 started with a Season Tip-Off set and Deck The Hoops set to celebrate the beginning of the season and the Christmas Day games.
With so much talent in these games, it would not be surprising to see some amazing plays from these games popping up on NBA Top Shot.
Hit the Marketplace to collect Moments from the Season Tip-Off set >>>
Hit the Marketplace to collect Moments from the Deck The Hoops set >>>
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