Only 92 days from opening night. The NBA has released the schedule for the upcoming season. The first game of the season for the Seattle Supersonics will be Wednesday, November 1st at home against the Portland Trailblazers. Brandon Roy's first pro game in front of a friendly (although not home) crowd. Added drama with the return of Nate on the heels of a disastrous first season in Portland. It will also be the first game under new ownership. And most importantly, and opportunity to see all of Robert Swift's new tatoos!
Unfortunately the Sonics are only scheduled (currently) for 5 nationally televised games, 3 on ESPN and 2 on TNT. LBJ and the Cavs, Kobe and the Lakers, Wade and the Heat, and Nash and the Suns lead all teams with 24 nationally televised games.
From NBA.com:
2005-06 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace’s return to Detroit as his Bulls take on the Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills – Feb. 25 (ABC, 12:30 p.m. ET)
Two of the game’s most talented young players square off four times as 2006 NBA Finals MVP Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat take on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers – Feb. 1 (TNT, 8 p.m. ET), Feb. 9 (ESPN, 8:00 p.m. ET), Feb. 25 (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET) and April 5 (TNT, 7 p.m. ET).
The Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks meet twice in rematches of the memorable 2006 NBA Finals. The Mavericks travel to Miami on Jan. 21 (ABC, 12:30 p.m.) and the Heat return the trip to Dallas on Feb. 22 (TNT, 9:30 p.m.)
Eastern Conference Finals rematches between the Miami Heat and the Detroit Pistons – Nov. 30 (TNT, 8 p.m. ET), March 2 (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET) and April 1 (ABC, 12:30 p.m. ET).
Western Conference Finals rematches between the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns – Nov. 9 (TNT, 10:30 p.m. ET), Dec. 28 (TNT, 8 p.m. ET), March 14 (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET) and April 1 (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET).
The NBA and TNT commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 15) with a celebration in his honor and a doubleheader featuring the Suns at the Memphis Grizzlies (TNT, 7:30 p.m. ET), followed by Shaquille O’Neal’s Heat versus Kobe Bryant’s Lakers at Staples Center (TNT, 10:00 p.m. ET).
Last year’s conference runnerups, the Detroit Pistons and Phoenix Suns, tangle twice again this season. The Suns visit the Pistons on New Year’s Eve (4 p.m.) while the Pistons travel to Phoenix on March 16. (NBA TV, 9 p.m.)
ESPN network will televise 71 regular-season games which include 24 games on Wednesdays, 36 on Fridays, including 23 double-headers on weekdays, and 10 on Sundays and one on a Saturday.
TNT will televise 52 regular-season games, 44 as part of Thursday night doubleheaders, six games on Tuesday nights and the two on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. TNT will also carry NBA All-Star 2007 festivities in Las Vegas from Feb. 16-18, culminating with the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, February 18.
ABC tips off its NBA game coverage on Christmas Day with an East-West showdown between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers. The ABC national television schedule consists of 19 regular-season game windows, including game action on 12 consecutive Sundays from Jan. 21 through the end of the regular season. The NBA on ABC will present flexible scheduling throughout the regular season in order to provide the most compelling match-ups to a national audience.