LeBron James has moved back to the Eastern Conference, but the Lakers remain a major box office draw for the NBA.
With an almost brand new rotation after a busy offseason that elevated Luka Doncic to the team’s unquestioned leader, the Lakers have the maximum amount of nationally televised games in the NBA this season with 34, according to the league schedule released Thursday. The Lakers open the season against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21 on ESPN.
The slate is highlighted by a much-anticipated Christmas Day reunion with James that will be televised at 2 p.m. on ABC. The matchup at Crypto.com Arena will be James’ return to L.A. after the four-time NBA champion signed with the Philadelphia 76ers this summer following eight seasons with the Lakers. James will play on Christmas Day for the 21st time in his 24-season career, and the Lakers will play on the holiday for the 28th consecutive time.
The Lakers don’t meet James in his new home until March 4, when they finish a four-game trip in Philadelphia.
The Lakers have a frantic start to the season, playing 13 games in the first four weeks. They have three back-to-back sets during the busy stretch from the opener to the end of a three-game trip in Milwaukee on Nov. 11.
The Lakers have 14 sets of back-to-backs, the same as last season, and eight of the sets require travel between the games. Two require time changes: The Lakers play at Minnesota on Dec. 18 before gaining an hour while traveling to Denver to play Dec. 19, then lose an hour between Chicago on Jan. 2 and Toronto on Jan. 3.
The traditional Grammys trip begins in Indiana on Jan. 28 followed by a back-to-back set in New York (Jan. 30) and Charlotte (Jan. 31). The Lakers then continue the seven-game trip by circling back north from Charlotte to Boston (Feb. 2) and Brooklyn (Jan. 4), then heading West with stops in San Antonio (Feb. 6) and Phoenix (Feb. 8).
The reigning NBA champion New York Knicks, Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and James’ 76ers each have 34 nationally televised games. The national broadcast appearances are spread throughout the NBA’s broadcast partners: ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime.
The final two games of the 82-game season will be determined in December as the NBA Cup midseason tournament plays out.
The Lakers were placed into Group C, which includes the Warriors, Spurs, Portland Trailblazers and Sacramento Kings. The group stage begins at Golden State on Oct. 30 followed by home games against Portland (Nov. 6) and Sacramento (Nov. 20). The final group game is Nov. 27 at San Antonio.
LAKERS’ 2026-27 SCHEDULE
October 21: vs. Golden State, 7 p.m. 23: vs. Clippers, 7 p.m. 25: at Utah, 2 p.m. 27: vs. Portland, 8 p.m. 28: at Clippers, 7:30 p.m. 30: at Golden State, 7 p.m.
November 1: vs. Toronto, 6 p.m. 2: vs. Miami, 7 p.m. 4: at Sacramento, 7 p.m. 6: vs. Portland, 7 p.m. 8: at Detroit, 3 p.m. 9: at Atlanta, 4 p.m. 11: at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. 15: at Phoenix, 1 p.m. 17: vs. Charlotte, 7 p.m. 18: vs. Utah, 7 p.m. 20: vs. Sacramento, 7 p.m. 23: vs. Utah, 7 p.m. 27: at San Antonio, 6:30 p.m. 29: at Memphis, 1 p.m. 30: at Houston, 4:30 p.m.
December 2: at New Orleans, 5 p.m. 14: vs. New Orleans, 7 p.m. 16: at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m. 18: at Minnesota, 5 p.m. 19: at Denver, 6 p.m. 21: vs. Indiana, 7 p.m. 23: vs. Denver, 7 p.m. 25: vs. Philadelphia, 2 p.m. 27: vs. Memphis, 6 p.m. 29: vs. Houston, 7 p.m. 31: at New Orleans, 5 p.m.
January 2: at Chicago, 5 p.m. 3: at Toronto, 4 p.m. 5: at Washington, 4 p.m. 7: vs. Boston, 7 p.m. 8: vs. Detroit, 7 p.m. 11: at Clippers, 7 p.m. 13: at Portland, 7 p.m. 14: vs. Orlando, 7 p.m. 17: vs. Milwaukee, 6 p.m. 19: at Sacramento, 7 p.m. 21: at Golden State, 7 p.m. 22: vs. Sacramento, 7 p.m. 24: vs. Washington, 1 p.m. 26: vs Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. 28: at Indiana, 4 p.m. 30: at New York, 5:30 p.m. 31: at Charlotte, 4 p.m.
February 2: at Boston, 5 p.m. 4: at Brooklyn, 4 p.m. 6: at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. 8: at Phoenix, 6:30 p.m. 10: vs. Clippers, 7 p.m. 12: vs. Denver, 7 p.m. 16: vs. Chicago, 7 p.m. 18: vs. Houston, 7 p.m. 26: at Denver, 7 p.m. 28: at Dallas, 12:30 p.m.
March 2: at Orlando, 4 p.m. 4: at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. 6: vs. Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m. 7: vs. Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m. 11: vs. New York, 7 p.m. 12 vs. Cleveland, 7 p.m. 14: vs. Golden State, 7 p.m. 16: at Portland, 7 p.m. 17: vs. Phoenix, 7 p.m. 19: vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m. 21: vs. Dallas, 7 p.m. 23: at Miami, 5 p.m. 25: at Cleveland, 4 p.m. 28: at Houston, noon 30: at Memphis, 5 p.m.
April 1: at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m. 4: vs. San Antonio, 7 p.m. 6: vs. Dallas, 7 p.m. 7: vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m. 9: vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m. 11: vs. Phoenix, 5:30 p.m.
All times Pacific
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