The middle of August is often a boring part of the NBA calendar, but one important release happens during this time: the NBA calendar.
The NBA this year went on Good Morning America this morning to share some of the juicy tidbits with the world. When do the New York Knicks raise their banner? Who plays on opening night? Who plays on Christmas?
Well, Denver Nuggets fans received some valuable information about their schedule as well.
The Nuggets will be the very last team to play their opening game this year, playing on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, October 22nd.
Kicking off 2026-27 in OKC pic.twitter.com/yT6WbJ8tPF
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) August 11, 2026
Oklahoma City is playing on the NBA’s opening night on Tuesday vs the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference’s new top rivalry game.
OKC will host the Nuggets on ESPN a couple nights later. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams will likely all be ready to go for that one, though the Thunder will have a new starting lineup after trading Lu Dort to the Atlanta Hawks this offseason.
Denver struggled with OKC last year due to SGA’s unparalleled on-ball scoring impact and a relentless defensive profile. We will see if the Nuggets can turn that around to begin the 2026-27 season, though Denver’s final rotation is still unsettled by the Peyton Watson situation.
The other Nuggets game that was released as part of the NBA calendar reveal was the Christmas slate. Perhaps surprisingly, the Nuggets make the NBA’s premiere slate as part of the nightcap against the Golden State Warriors.
The Christmas slate in order:
- San Antonio Spurs vs New York Knicks
- Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics
- Philadelphia 76ers vs Los Angeles Lakers
- Oklahoma City Thunder vs Minnesota Timberwolves
- Denver Nuggets vs Golden State Warriors
The first four games make a lot of sense based on the NBA’s goals of showing their premiere teams on the big stage. Nuggets-Warriors is a premiere matchup too, if only because the games are almost always high scoring and exciting with Nikola Jokic and Stephen Curry going back and forth. The matchup looks a bit out of place this year, but the Nuggets will still be part of the festivities on Christmas.
Now, Nuggets fans know two of the 82 regular season games. Both are on the road. It would stand to reason that Denver’s first home game will be on Saturday, October 24th; however, that’s not a guarantee.
We will learn more about Denver’s full schedule this week.