The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the biggest franchise in the league, and just got finished employing LeBron James for the last eight seasons. Being featured on Opening Night was par for the course over the last seven seasons. That will no longer be the case in 2026-27.
NBA Opening Day Slate (Oct. 20) | Time |
|---|---|
Boston Celtics @ Detroit Pistons | 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT |
Philadelphia 76ers @ New York Knicks | 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT |
Oklahoma City Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs | 9:30 PM ET/6:30 PM PT |
The Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and San Antonio Spurs will all be featured on Opening Night as a part of a triple-header to tip off the new season. The Lakers will have to wait one extra day to start their 2026-27 campaign.
A home game against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21 at 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET will be when the new-look Lakers step on the court for the first time in this upcoming season. For those who believe in bad juju and superstitions, this is a good thing for Los Angeles.
Jovan Buha pointed out this is the first time since the 2018-19 season that the Lakers will not be playing on the NBA's Opening Night. Getting that spotlight has not been kind to them. Los Angeles has a record of 1-6 when being featured in those games since 2019-20.
LeBron James era in Los Angeles was not kind to the Lakers on Opening Night
Having the face of the league in LeBron and being the historic franchise that the Lakers are made it just about a foregone conclusion to include Los Angeles on Opening Night over the last seven seasons. Losing the former has temporarily cost the franchise their spot.
Given that 1-6 record, though, the Lakers may actually be glad to see it. The only win that Los Angeles managed to secure during that stretch was during the 2024-25 campaign. James and company started the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves and secure a competitive 110-103 win against their Western Conference rivals.
The rest of those seasons have featured losses to the likes of the Warriors (three times), Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Clippers (twice). 0-1 was a familiar sight for the Lakers.
Realistically, the extra day off is not going to be the definitive difference of how the Lakers start their season. Likewise, even if they do begin the campaign with a 0-1 record again, it has hardly been a real hinderance. Los Angeles still made the postseason in all but one of those years.
Even so, it would be nice to see a revamped Lakers team get off on the right note with the new crew around Luka Doncic. Seeing early chemistry, and winning, from all the fresh faces in Los Angeles would be a fantastic sign of what is to come in 2026-27.
Add us as a preferred source on Google