The New York Knicks will raise their championship banner on 20 October before facing a Philadelphia 76ers side debuting LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, headlining an opening night that also brings a rematch of last season’s Western semi-finals.
The 2026-27 NBA schedule runs to 1,230 games, and the league has packed its biggest storylines into the first week, Christmas Day and a run of homecoming games for stars who changed teams over a busy summer.
Below are the key dates, converted to Singapore time, for anyone tracking the season alongside sports betting sites Singapore.
A Loaded Opening Week
The Knicks host the Sixers at Madison Square Garden at 7:30 p.m. ET, which is 7:30 a.m. on 21 October in Singapore. New York ended a title drought dating back to 1973 last season, winning 13 straight playoff games and beating Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs in five games in the Finals.
Philadelphia arrives with James and Brown alongside Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe, giving coach Nick Nurse one of the league’s most talented and usage-heavy rosters to balance from day one.
Later that night, the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Spurs at 9:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. SGT), a rematch of the seven-game conference finals San Antonio won last season. Oddsmakers rate the two sides as the title favourites, according to Yahoo Sports.
Both rosters have changed. The Thunder lost Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe and will lean on newcomers including Nikola Topic, Thomas Sorber, Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz. The Spurs added Tobias Harris to a group led by Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, who is the betting favourite for Sixth Man of the Year.
Tyrese Haliburton followed on 21 October, when the Indiana Pacers visited the New Orleans Pelicans. It will be his first game since tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals, with the Pacers adding centre Ivica Zubac around him.
Christmas Day and the Homecomings
The Spurs and Knicks meet again on Christmas Day to open a five-game ABC slate. In Singapore time, that runs from 1 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on 26 December:
- Spurs at Knicks: Noon ET (1 a.m. SGT)
- Heat at Celtics: 2:30 p.m. ET (3:30 a.m. SGT)
- 76ers at Lakers: 5 p.m. ET (6 a.m. SGT), James’s first game back in Los Angeles
- Thunder at Timberwolves: 8 p.m. ET (9 a.m. SGT)
- Nuggets at Warriors: 10:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. SGT)
Several returns are circled on the calendar. Brown goes back to Boston with the Sixers on 21 January after the Celtics traded him for Paul George and two first-round picks, and Giannis Antetokounmpo returns to Milwaukee with the Miami Heat on 28 January.
The Bucks sent Antetokounmpo to Miami for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis and the rights to four first-round picks. Trae Young visits Atlanta with the Washington Wizards on 6 November, Ja Morant returns to Memphis with the Portland Trail Blazers on 6 February and LaMelo Ball faces Charlotte with Minnesota on 15 February.
The rookie class gets its own spotlight. No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa and the Wizards face No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson’s Utah Jazz on 27 February, while Cooper Flagg’s Dallas Mavericks host Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers a day later.
The NBA Cup championship game is set for 11 December. The Knicks won the 2025 edition against the same Spurs side they later beat in the Finals.
Where the Season Meets the Sportsbook
With opening night two weeks away, three Singapore-facing sportsbooks have basketball-relevant offers lined up.
Solarbet lists the NBA among its markets, alongside live betting with live streaming, and its sports welcome offer runs up to 200%, worth up to $5,000 across the first three deposits.
BetVision88 runs its sportsbook through United Gaming, WBET and the recently added AP Gaming, which pays daily rebates of up to 0.75% on sporting events. Its Perfect Parlay Bonus is worth up to $588, a sports welcome bonus goes up to 200% to a $1,888 cap, and the BV88 TV hub carries sports and live events.
GoPlay711 offers sports betting through WBet, United Gaming and CMD368, with a 120% first deposit bonus of up to $5,000 for sports and daily reloads at 8x turnover.
