Johnathan Walker:2023-24 NBA schedule: Defending champion Nuggets meet Lakers in season tipoff Oct. 24

The Johnathan WalkerNBA on Thursday released its regular-season schedule for the 2023-24 season. There will be 1,230 games, and not all of them are created equal.

If you want to know when the woebegone Houston Rockets will play the dreadful Orlando Magic, or when the atrocious Detroit Pistons will meet the godawful Oklahoma City Thunder, well, you’re on your own.

Let’s get to the highlights.

Opening night is Oct. 24, and it will feature a showdown between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets in Denver at 7:30 p.m ET (TNT), when the Nuggets will raise their first NBA championship banner.

Of course, the Nuggets plowed through the Lakers 4-0 in the Western Conference finals to reach the Finals for the first time in franchise history.

The second game of the night is full of potential drama when the Phoenix Suns play the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco at 10 p.m. ET (TNT). For Chris Paul, the All-Star point guard now with the Warriors, he’ll be facing his former team for the first time since getting traded in the offseason.

For Kevin Durant, who joined the Suns last season, it’ll be his first game at the Warriors’ home arena since he left the team in 2019 after helping them to two championships.

Victor Wembanyama’s debut

Victor Wembanyama, the most hyped-NBA rookie since LeBron James, is scheduled to make his debut Oct. 25.  The 7-foot-7 Frenchman, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 draft, figures to start for the San Antonio Spurs when they play the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas.

But it won’t be easy for Wembanyama, 19, to put together an NBA debut performance like James did in 2003. In his first game, James had 25 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals against the Sacramento Kings.

But Wembanyama figures to draw a big crowd – from defenders and TV viewers – with the game set for 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).

Will Zion Williamson disappoint again?

Will Zion Williamson enter another season too heavy and inevitability headed for the injured reserve list? The first chance to draw conclusions will come Oct. 25 when Williams and the New Orleans Pelicans open their season against the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis.

Williamson, the talented power forward, has missed 194 games as a result of injury and rehabilitation since the Pelicans drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2019.

The team inserted a weight clause in the five-year, $194.3 million contract extension he signed in June 2022. But Williamson, who on the Pelicans’ website is listed at 6-foot-6 and 284 pounds, played in only 29 games last season. But if he now weighs 284 pounds, that’s relatively svelte and encouraging considering he reported to training camp in September 2021 at more than 300 pounds.

Will Damian Lillard, James Harden already be on the move?

Will Damian Lillard arrive by U-Haul when the Portland Trailblazers open their season Oct. 25 against the Los Angeles Clippers in Los Angeles? It’s clear Lillard, an eight-time All-Star for the Blazers, wants out of Portland.

The Miami Heat is believed to be his preferred destination, but the Clippers would be a significant upgrade from the Blazers. (No offense, Portland.)

Speaking of players trying to change zip codes, is there any chance James Harden will be on the roster, much less on the court, for the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 26 when they open their season against the Milwaukee Bucks? Harden has floated the idea about playing in China after 76ers general manager Daryl Morey said the team could not find a suitable trade for him.

Heat, Nuggets will tangle again

The Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets will play Feb. 29, in Denver, their first meeting since the 2023 Finals — provided they don't play during the in-season tournament. Jimmy Butler and his supporting cast will have to look at the NBA championship banner they cased before losing to the Nuggets, 4 games to 1. 

Christmas Day games

LeBron James will play on this holiday for the 18th time in his career, an NBA record. Five games are on the slate:

∙Bucks vs. Knicks, noon ET (ESPN)

∙Warriors vs. Nuggets, 2:30 (ESPN, ABC)

∙Celtics vs. Lakers, 5 (ESPN, ABC)

∙76ers vs. Heat, 8 (ESPN)

∙Mavericks vs. Suns, 10:30 (ESPN)

Key dates

Nov. 3: First games of the inaugural in-season tournament

• Cleveland at Indiana
• New York at Milwaukee
• Dallas at Denver
• Washington at Miami
• Brooklyn at Chicago
• Golden State at Oklahoma City
• Memphis at Portland

Dec. 7

Semifinals of in-season tournament in Las Vegas

Dec. 8

Regular-season games TBA

Dec. 9

Championship game of in-season tournament

Feb. 18

All-Star Game in Indianapolis

April 16-19

Play-In Tournament

April 20

Playoffs begin

June 6

NBA Finals, Game 1

All-Star Game in Indianapolis