Reports: Rockets-Thunder, Warriors-Lakers on NBA opening night

The opening night of the 2025-26 NBA season will star LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a Western Conference doubleheader.
The Houston Rockets will visit the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors will play at the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 21 to tip off the new season, ESPN and The Athletic reported Friday.
The Rockets are Durant’s newest team, and he’ll have to sit and watch one of his former teams, the Thunder, raise their first championship banner before the game. The Warriors and Lakers will meet after that as James enters his eighth season with Los Angeles while Luka Doncic begins his first full season with the Lake Show.
The doubleheader will serve as the first regular-season NBA games broadcast by NBC in 23 years. The upcoming season marks the start of a new media rights deal that places games on NBC and Amazon Prime Video while the league continues its relationship with Disney.
ABC and ESPN will present its customary five-game Christmas Day slate, the reports also revealed, with a heavy Western Conference influence:
–Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
–San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
–Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
–Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors
–Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
The Rockets-Lakers game will pit Durant against James, while Klay Thompson again visits Golden State as a member of the Mavericks.
The Spurs-Thunder rivalry continues to blossom, as well, with star centers Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren slated to go face to face.