In a new press statement Thursday, the NBA announced its entire schedule for the impending 2024-25 season.
The reigning champion Boston Celtics — who are bringing back all their key rotation players — will be looking to win their second straight title and a record-extending 19th overall.
But revamped Eastern Conference squads like the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks, are angling to knock Boston off its pedestal. In the West, the Dallas Mavericks are hoping to return to the NBA Finals with a reconfigured lineup of their own.
Additional West contenders like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves also made tactical offseason moves to shore up their own depth. The Denver Nuggets, meanwhile, let one of their starters walk in free agency bringing back ill-fitting bench piece Russell Westbrook.
The league’s schedule includes a fresh slate of three global games across two continents.
First up, the league will showcase a Mexico City game on Nov. 2. The Miami Heat will clash with the lowly Washington Wizards. The game is set to be shown on NBA TV. Mexico City has long been floated as a potential destination for an expansion team and has been featured as a locale for global regular season meetings in the past.
After an unexpected run to the 2023 NBA Finals as the East’s No. 8 seed, the Miami Heat didn’t do nearly enough to build out their roster around All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in 2023-24.
The club went 46-36 in the regular season, even after offloading starting point guard Kyle Lowry’s expiring contract for the younger, more athletic Terry Rozier. With Rozier and Butler both missing for the entirety of the team’s first round playoff series matchup against the Celtics, Miami fell in five games.
This offseason, thus far, has sadly looked quite similar to 2023’s for Miami. The Heat let small forward Caleb Martin walk in free agency but managed to retain middling incumbents like Haywood Highsmith, Thomas Bryant, and Kevin Love. In terms of new additions, Miami drafted Kel’el Ware with the No. 15 pick and added sharpshooting swingman Alec Burks.
After going a brutal 15-67 in 2023-24, the Wizards appeared doomed for more of the same. That said, the club selected a pair of intriguing lottery picks, forward Alex Sarr and point guard Carlton Carrington, drafted shooting guard Kyshawn George later in the first round, traded Deni Avdija for 2023 Sixth Man of the Year combo guard Malcolm Brogdon and draft equity, and re-signed power forward Anthony Gill.
Washington also signed small forward Saddiq Bey, likely out for the year with an injury, to a long-term contract. Led by pricey vets Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole, the Wizards seem likely to be easy prey for Miami — even if the latter club didn’t make nearly enough moves to number among the conference’s elite.
The Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs, meanwhile, will square off in Paris for a pair of games, on Jan. 23 and Jan. 25. The first contest in France will also be shown on NBA TV.
After finishing 47-35 and securing the East’s sixth seed, the Pacers capitalized on some injury luck to advance all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Indiana fell to the Celtics in a clean sweep.
Indiana seems to be banking on internal improvement — if its offseason transactions are to be believed, anyway. Over the summer, the team quickly signed free agent power forward Pascal Siakam to a four-season, $189 million deal.
The team also inked free agent backup center James Wiseman to a long-term deal, retained Siakam’s backup, power forward Obi Toppin, and brought back bench enforcer James Johnson. All-NBA Third Team point guard Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers’ best player, won an Olympic gold medal over the summer, though he did not play a second in Team USA’s title game.
San Antonio selected Big East Freshman of the Year and UConn NCAA champ Stephon Castle with the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s 2024 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-6 rookie will study under the tutelage of 12-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer Chris Paul, who inked a one-year, $11 million deal in free agency.
All-Defensive First Team Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, fresh off earning a silver medal for Team France at this year’s Olympics, is looking to step up to bona fide All-Star (and perhaps All-NBA) status in 2024-25. The Spurs also added 3-and-D veteran combo forward Harrison Barnes and a draft pick in a three-team deal with the Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings.
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