We’re still over two months away from the NBA’s 2025-26 regular season tipping off, but the hype train’s left the station with the release of the schedule. Let’s dive into all 82 games and give fans a glimpse of what’s to come for their New York Knicks…
Key dates
Sept. 24: Training Camp opens for the New York Knicks
Oct. 2 & 4: 2025 Preseason: NBA Abu Dhabi Games | Knicks vs. 76ers | Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi
Oct. 21: Start of the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season – Opening Night
Dec. 9-10: Emirates NBA Cup 2025 – Knockout Rounds (Quarterfinals)
Dec. 13: Emirates NBA Cup 2025 – Semifinals (Las Vegas, NV)
Dec. 16: Emirates NBA Cup 2025 – Championship (Las Vegas, NV)
Feb. 5: NBA Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET)
Feb. 13-15: 2026 NBA All-Star in Los Angeles, CA
April 12: Regular season ends
Top matchups
Thu. Oct 2 and Sat. Oct. 4 against Philadelphia 76ers (Abu Dhabi Games)
It’s been a minute since Knicks fans got to see their team before any others took the court, and this year they’ll have that chance with the team participating in the NBA’s Global Games in Abu Dhabi.
Not only is it a chance to see the team early, but in a neutral ground site for some fun mid-day action — unfortunately the hiring of Mike Brown might mean more development time for the deep bench and less overexposure of the starters, for those who want to see the stars.
Wed. Oct. 22 vs Cleveland Cavaliers
Opening night at Madison Square Garden against your (most healthy) top rival in the East, what could be better? The Knicks get a true test right out of the gates in what will be a raucous, can’t-miss environment to kick off the highest expectation-laden season in decades.
Thu. Dec. 25 vs Cleveland Cavaliers
Tired of chain snatching Donovan Mitchell? Better be ready to do it twice on a national stage before the New Year’s, as New York gets Cleveland again for their Christmas Day game.
Mon. Jan. 19 vs Dallas Mavericks
The highly-anticipated number one overall pick of this year’s NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg, comes to town in a MLK Day matinee that should make for an awesome matchup.
Sun. Feb. 1 vs Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James in the Garden – maybe for the final time?
Wed. Feb. 4 vs Denver Nuggets
The Knicks have played one of the NBA’s perennial contenders and best players well over the past few seasons, setting the stage for hopefully another strong outing vs. Nikola Jokic and his new-look Nuggets.
Wed. Mar. 4 vs Oklahoma City Thunder
Unfortunately the Knicks don’t get to test themselves against the reigning NBA champions until late in the season, with their second matchup coming just before April, when load management takes over the locked-in seeds.
Sun. Mar 15 vs Golden State Warriors
Whenever Stephen Curry comes to the Garden you know it’s going to be a show, and this game adds some real sizzle to the dog days of the season.
NBA Cup games
Fri. Oct. 31 @ Chicago Bulls
Fri. Nov. 14 vs Miami Heat
Wed. Nov. 26 @ Charlotte Hornets
Fri. Nov. 38 vs Milwaukee Bucks
Easiest stretches
The Knicks' schedule doesn’t pull many punches, perhaps because there’s some front-loading or partially due to the West having a total of one true pushover team. They have a seven-game homestand from November 2 to November 14, and even that includes two back-to-backs.
They face a mix of lottery teams in Chicago, Washington and Brooklyn and tougher teams in Minnesota, Memphis, Orlando and Miami. They don’t have a home stand longer than three games for the rest of the season, with some big West coast trips in between.
There’s one stretch loaded with middling opponents, once again coming in the early part of the season however. From November 24 to December 5, New York plays Brooklyn, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Toronto, Boston, Charlotte and Utah.
Toughest stretches
Talk about your brutal holiday travel plans, the Knicks kick off a back-to-back on December 18-19 before playing every other night through New Year’s Eve, which include two road trips and the Christmas Day game. After an NYE bout in San Antonio, they fly back for another back-to-back beginning on January 2, wrapping up 10 games and six cities and in 17 days.
They only have a couple larger West Coach swings, but one falls in a bruising stretch.
They fly from Toronto back home to face Oklahoma City for a back-to-back on March 3-4, before embarking on a five-game, eight-night road trip against Denver, both LA teams, Utah and Indiana, all to play Golden State at home after a day of rest.
Playoff seeding
If the Knicks haven’t locked in a top two seed before the final weeks of the season, something went terribly wrong or the East showed much greater strength than advertised. In the case of either scenario, the home stretch of their season doesn’t look too bad.
New York plays @ Brooklyn on March 20, followed by vs Washington, vs New Orleans, @ Charlotte, @ Oklahoma City, @ Houston, vs Chicago, @ Atlanta, vs Boston, vs Toronto and vs Charlotte. Those are mostly beatable teams with a couple high-level contenders that could be resting up.