The 2016-17 schedule is out! What game is each team circling on the calendar this season? We've got the must-watch matchups for all 30 NBA clubs.
Atlanta Hawks
Oct. 27: Hawks vs. Wizards
Dwight Howard plays as a Hawk for the first time in front of his hometown fans at Philips Arena. The Atlanta native described joining the Hawks as "a new beginning" and added that the faith the team showed in him has restored his "belief that I'm still the player" who was selected to eight All-Star Games ‎and won three successive NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards.
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Boston Celtics
Jan. 13: Celtics at Hawks
After signing a four-year, $113 million contract with the Celtics this summer, Al Horford returns to Atlanta for the first time. The Hawks are also the team that ousted the Celtics from the postseason last year.
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Brooklyn Nets
Oct 26: Nets at Celtics
The Nets open against the Celtics in Boston. It will officially be Kenny Atkinson's head-coaching debut and Jeremy Lin's first game as a Net. Brooklyn will get a chance to see Jaylen Brown, the No. 3 pick in the draft. The Nets owed that pick to the Celtics as part of the Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce trade. Boston still has the right to swap firsts with Brooklyn in 2017 and owns the Nets' unprotected first-rounder in 2018.
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Charlotte Hornets
Oct 26: Hornets at Bucks
Coming off their most successful season under coach Steve Clifford, the Hornets will be looking to continue their ascent when they begin their season against the Bucks. Despite losing forward Al Jefferson and point guard Jeremy Lin in free agency, Clifford's squad has high expectations to compete in the Eastern Conference this season.
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Chicago Bulls
Oct. 27: Bulls vs. Celtics
Dwyane Wade's first regular-season appearance with the Bulls will give fans something to cheer about on opening night, as second-year head coach Fred Hoiberg shows off his new-look team. Rajon Rondo gets a chance to make a good first impression in Chicago while facing off against the team he helped win a title in 2008.
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Oct. 25: Cavaliers vs. Knicks
The Cavs will host Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and the Knicks on a night the city of Cleveland has been waiting 52 years for: ring night. This will be a celebration of the first pro sports championship for the city in more than half a century. As for those rings, a team source described a prototype version of the jewelry to ESPN.com as "ridiculous."
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Dallas Mavericks
Oct. 26: Mavericks at Pacers
The Mavericks open the season against the Pacers. Although the Mavericks added several pieces this offseason, one thing remains the same: Dirk Nowitzki begins his 19th season in Dallas.
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Denver Nuggets
Oct. 26: Nuggets at Pelicans
The season opener will give Denver fans their first chance to see the No. 7 overall pick, Jamal Murray, in an NBA game. The 6-foot-4 Kentucky product impressed during summer league play in Las Vegas.
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Detroit Pistons
Oct. 26: Pistons at Raptors
After the Pistons returned to the playoffs last season for the first time under Stan Van Gundy, the season opener against the Toronto Raptors marks the beginning of a season of high optimism in Detroit.
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Golden State Warriors
Nov. 23: Warriors vs. Thunder
In last year's backloaded schedule, the Warriors went all the way to Feb. 6 before they finally faced the Oklahoma City Thunder. This season's Thunder face-off happens three months sooner, on Nov. 3 in Oakland. We will, however, have to wait until Feb. 11 for Durant's return to Oklahoma City. In general, though, fans won't need to be patient for highly hyped Warriors affairs. Six of Golden State's first 12 games are on national TV.
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Houston Rockets
Feb 2: Rockets vs. Hawks
The Rockets will play former center Dwight Howard twice with his new team, the Atlanta Hawks. Houston visits Atlanta on Nov. 5 as part of a four-games-in-nine-days road trip. Howard makes his return to Houston in February. The ending for Howard wasn't pleasant, but he wasn't a bad guy and should be cheered by Rockets fans when he returns to the Toyota Center.
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Indiana Pacers
Oct. 26: Pacers vs. Mavericks
The new-look Pacers begin their season against the Dallas Mavericks. This will be the first time Pacers fans get to see the team's new starting lineup with Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young.
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LA Clippers
Oct. 27: Clippers at Trail Blazers
The Clippers enter the season as title contenders but have plenty of questions to answer, including one about Blake Griffin's long-term future. If the Clippers remain healthy -- a big if -- Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Griffin have enough to bring that elusive title to the Clippers. It's hard to figure out why the Clippers have such bad luck, but injuries to Paul and Griffin doomed them in the playoffs last season, as the Trail Blazers dug out of a 2-0 hole to win four straight. If their team is healthy, Clippers fans will get to see what could have been.
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Los Angeles Lakers
Dec. 16: Lakers at Sixers
The first of two match-ups between 76ers rookie and 2016 top draft pick Ben Simmons and Lakers rookie and No. 2 pick Brandon Ingram should have plenty of intrigue. Assuming they stay healthy, they will have had nearly half the season to adjust to the league, so it should be a thrilling showdown of the league's top young talent.
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Memphis Grizzlies
Nov. 18: Grizzlies at Mavericks
This game marks Chandler Parsons' first game back at the American Airlines Arena, where he averaged 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists during his two-year stint in Dallas. Parsons signed a four-year max contract worth around $94.8 million with Memphis earlier this summer.
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Miami Heat
Nov. 4: Heat at Raptors
This is the first meeting between the teams that slugged it out in a brutal, seven-game playoff series that propelled Toronto to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in franchise history and dropped Miami into a roster overhaul.
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Milwaukee Bucks
Nov. 19: Bucks vs. Warriors
The Bucks held the title of being the first team to defeat the Warriors last season, after Golden State exploded to a 24-0 start. What will happen with Durant in the picture?
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Minnesota Timberwolves
Dec. 13: Timberwolves at Bulls
This game marks head coach Tom Thibodeau's return to the Windy City, where he coached the Bulls for five seasons and was named the 2011 NBA Coach of the Year.
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New Orleans Pelicans
Dec. 2: Pelicans vs. Clippers
Chris Paul makes the first of his annual trips back to New Orleans, which always gets the nostalgic heart strings a-tuggin'. It has been a lifetime in NBA years (five in human years) since Paul suited up for the home team, but the scar tissue still shows from time to time, including during the teams' most recent meeting in March, before which Paul jokingly asked the PA announcer why he hadn't alerted the crowd that they were "Live at the Hive."
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New York Knicks
Oct. 25: Knicks at Cavaliers
Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis and the rest of the Knicks will be tested early on. They'll face a raucous Cleveland crowd celebrating its first pro championship since 1964. LeBron James and the Cavs will likely get their championship rings that night and raise a banner at the Q. That isn't an easy atmosphere for a team with several new players, and it's a tough test for new coach Jeff Hornacek.
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Oklahoma City Thunder
Nov. 11: Thunder vs. Clippers
Thunder versus Clippers has always been an intriguing matchup with hefty, physical frontlines battling inside. But this one will carry a new narrative: The first attempt to recruit native son Blake Griffin. Griffin has always been met with a tepid reception in Oklahoma, but with buzz building about the Thunder's likely pursuit of Griffin next summer in free agency, fans will likely turn a meh welcome into something a bit more substantial.
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Orlando Magic
Nov. 14: Magic at Pacers
Frank Vogel returns to a place where he went 250-181 as coach, including two Eastern Conference finals appearances. His tenure ended with a first-round loss last season.
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Philadelphia 76ers
Oct. 26: 76ers vs. Thunder
The season opener is significant not only because the world is waiting to see No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons play an NBA game, but also because it will also mark the long-awaited debuts of 2014 draft picks Joel Embiid and Dario Saric. It will happen against Russell Westbrook & Co.
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Phoenix Suns
Oct. 30: Suns vs. Warriors
What fan doesn't want to see what the young Suns can do against Golden State? Devin Booker isn't a star yet, but after he averaged 13.1 points on the way to All-Rookie honors in 2015, this game will be a good test to see how far he's come and how far he still has to go.
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Portland Trail Blazers
Dec. 23: Blazers vs. Spurs
LaMarcus Aldridge returns to the Moda Center for the first time in the 2016-17 season. The Spurs big man averaged 17 points and six rebounds per game against his former team last season.
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Sacramento Kings
Dec. 16: Kings at Grizzlies
New head coach Dave Joerger will face his former team for the first time. Joerger was with the Grizzlies the past three seasons and put up a 246-147 record.
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San Antonio Spurs
Oct. 29: Spurs vs. Pelicans
The Spurs play their home opener Oct. 29 against the New Orleans Pelicans, and everyone in attendance will no doubt experience a somewhat surreal feeling, given that Tim Duncan will not be taking the court with his teammates. Considering Duncan has been the heart and soul of the Spurs since 1997, it's going to be interesting to see how coach Gregg Popovich and the rest of the club handle this matchup, which features three-time All-Star Anthony Davis.
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Toronto Raptors
Oct. 28: Raptors vs. Cavaliers
An early rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals, a 4-2 series win by Cleveland, is a chance for the Raptors to measure themselves against the LeBron James-led NBA champs. All roads in the East go through Cleveland, James and Kyrie Irving, but the Raptors have their own superstars to match: DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.
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Utah Jazz
Nov. 1: Jazz at Spurs
Boris Diaw returns to the Alamo City for the first time in the 2016-17 season. The veteran forward was a big factor in the Spurs' 2014-15 championship run. Diaw averaged 7.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game during his five-year stint with San Antonio.
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Washington Wizards
Nov. 30: Wizards at Thunder
This will be head coach Scott Brooks' first trip to Oklahoma City since he was fired after the 2015 season. Brooks led the Thunder to the 2012 NBA Finals.
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