Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder will raise their first championship banner — and Kevin Durant will be there to see it.
The Thunder begin its bid to become the league’s first repeat champion since 2018 when they host Durant and the revamped Houston Rockets on opening night of the 2025-26 NBA regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 22 (PH time).
League senior insider Shams Charania first reported the development.
🚨🚨🚨Opening Night of the 2025-26 NBA season on NBC on Oct. 21, per sources:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 8, 2025
- Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers
Durant, drafted first overall by the Thunder in 2007, was traded to Houston last June in a massive seven-team blockbuster deal that also sent Jalen Green to Phoenix and Devin Booker.
[ALSO READ: Kevin Durant headed to Houston Rockets in blockbuster trade — report]
Now, the two-time champion joins Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, and former OKC teammate Steven Adams in a bid to end the Rockets’ three-decade title drought.
As for the Thunder, they kept their title-winning core intact, with Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren all signing major offseason extensions.
In the main event, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler lead the Golden State Warriors into an early marquee Western Conference showdown with a considerably slimmer Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and the Lakers in downtown Los Angeles.
Both teams are eager to bounce back from last season’s playoff disappointments, where LA exited in the first round and Golden State got booted in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, a star-studded five-game Christmas Day lineup will feature the best and brightest names the league has to offer.
🚨🎄 NBA Christmas Day 2025 on ABC and ESPN, per sources:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 8, 2025
- Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
- San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Houston Rockets at LA Lakers
- Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
- Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers will visit Jalen Brunson and his Knicks in New York to kick off the festivities, followed by SGA hosting Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in Oklahoma City.
Durant will travel to Hollywood as the Rockets battle Doncic, James, and the Lakers, while Curry’s Warriors take on reigning top overall pick Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks in the Bay Area.
The day will close out with a 2024 Western Conference semifinal rematch between three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and his Nuggets clashing with Edwards and the Timberwolves in Denver.
