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The NBA 2023-24 season will tip off with defending champions Denver Nuggets hosting Los Angeles Lakers at the Ball Arena on October 24. The triumphant Nuggets players will receive their championship rings ahead of the game against the Lakers. LeBron James will be hoping to guide the Lakers to the Finals this season for the first time since claiming the championship in 2020. The season opener between the Nuggets and the Lakers will mark an early rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals.
In the second encounter of the opening day, the Phoenix Suns will visit the Golden State Warriors. In his debut match for the Warriors, Chris Paul will be lining up against his former team, the Suns. The league released its official schedule for the 2023-24 regular season yesterday. The regular season is scheduled to come to an end on April 14.
Earlier, the NBA had shared its schedule for the inaugural in-season tournament, which will start from November 3. The NBA in-season tournament is expected to have a prize pool of about $18 million. Eight teams will qualify for the knockouts, which comprise single-elimination games in the quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship. The inaugural NBA Cup will be awarded to the winner in Las Vegas on December 9. The outcome of the championship match will, however, have no bearing on the standings. The NBA had shared its plans for the first edition of the in-season tournament last month.
“This is a concept that has been rumbling around the league office for about 15 years. It’s not a new concept in sports. For those that follow particularly international soccer, it’s a long tradition of having in-season tournaments … so we thought, what a perfect opportunity for a global league like the NBA and it’s a perfect fit for our game,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver was quoted as saying.
The NBA slate of Christmas Day games were confirmed on Thursday. Five games will be played on Christmas Day and all those matches will be aired on ABC or ESPN. The set of Christmas Day games will begin with a match between Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks, followed by Warriors at Nuggets, Boston Celtics at Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns.
The NBA 2024 play-in tournament will start from April 16. The play-in tournament will go on till April 19. The playoffs are scheduled to begin from April 20. Game 1 of the NBA 2024 Finals will take place on June 6.
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