NBA Swing: 10 Must-Watch Games for the 2023-24 Season

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With a week left in the preseason, the wait for NBA regular season basketball is almost over. Fans are excited to get a look at new-look teams after an offseason full of big trades and plenty of drama. With the 2023-24 NBA season starting on October 24th, there are many must-watch games. Here’s a look at 10 must-watch games for the upcoming NBA season.

Denver Nuggets v. Los Angeles Lakers 10/24/23

The first game of the 2023-24 regular season is a must-watch for multiple reasons. The first is that this game will include the ring ceremony for the 2023 Champion Denver Nuggets, celebrating the first championship in the franchise’s history. After the Nuggets receive their rings, they will be playing the team they swept to make it out of the Western Conference the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers had one of the better offseasons, retaining key players including Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and D’Angelo Russell. The Lakers were also able to sign former Heat guard Gabe Vincent. Denver on the other hand had one of the rougher offseasons, losing key role players in Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, among others. This opening night matchup will instantly test the defending champions as they play against a team many consider to be one of their biggest threats in the West.

Portland Trailblazers v. Milwaukee Bucks 1/31/24

The biggest storyline of the 2023 offseason was superstar guard Damian Lillard requesting a trade from the Portland Trailblazers. While many expected Dame to end up in Miami with the Heat, he would be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in late September. Now having one of the scariest duos in the league, the Milwaukee Bucks are set for a big season with their eyes on the championship. For Portland, they enter an overdue rebuild. In late January, Damian Lillard will play at the Moda Center as an opposing player for the first time. After over a decade of being Portland’s franchise player, Dame will likely get a mixed response in what is expected to be one of the loudest and most emotional games of the season.

Golden State Warriors v Washington Wizards 12/22/23

Aside from the Lillard trade saga, another big transaction during the offseason saw the Golden State Warriors trade their young guard in Jordan Poole. After a drama-filled 2022-23 season and the introduction of a new collective bargaining agreement that would punish big-spending teams, the Warriors would trade Poole to Washington for veteran guard Chris Paul. Now on a new team and entering the first year of his four-year, $128M contract, there is an expectation for Poole to have a breakout season in Washington. Many expect this matchup in the Bay Area to be one of Poole’s best games of the season while this is an opportunity for him to prove Golden State made a mistake by trading him.

Memphis Grizzlies v. Atlanta Hawks 12/23/23

The Memphis Grizzlies are going to have one of the more challenging starts to the season. Superstar guard Ja Morant is set to miss the first 25 games of the season, following several incidents stemming from last season. In the 21 missed games last season, the Grizzlies went 11-10. While the team lost backup guard Tyus Jones and moved on from Dillon Brooks, they got a former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to fill the point. They also signed veteran guard Derrick Rose, who is sure to have a positive impact on both Ja and the Grizzlies. This matchup against the Hawks will be the first game Ja will be available to play. There is no telling where the Grizz will be at in the standings in late December, but the addition of Ja Morant will be a huge boost to a team that’s been near the top of the West the last few seasons.

Miami Heat v. Milwaukee Bucks 10/30/23

With Miami losing out on Damian Lillard, as well as losing several key players from their historic run to the Finals, the Heat have an extremely challenging season ahead of them. In the first week of the season, they will play the Boston Celtics in an Eastern Conference Finals rematch before playing the Bucks in Milwaukee a few days later. After a first-round playoff upset, the new-look Bucks will be healthy and ready to face Miami when they come to the Fiserv Forum on October 30th. This matchup will be key in telling how the Heat will be able to compete with arguably one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

Phoenix Suns v. Golden State Warriors 10/24/23

The second game on opening night sees two of the Western Conference’s juggernauts match up. Even with injuries the Suns were one of the best teams in the West. After trading for Kevin Durant in February, Phoenix went 8-0 with KD in the lineup. In the offseason, Phoenix would go all in, trading for Bradley Beal and bolstering their bench with several shooters on cheap contracts. In late September, Phoenix would move on from Ayton as a part of the Damian Lillard trade, receiving Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen as a part of their return. For Golden State, trading Jordan Poole for Chris Paul is a risky, but possibly rewarding move. These two teams are both expected to be championship contenders and their opening night matchup will show how these new look Pacific Division rivals perform.

Boston Celtics v. Milwaukee Bucks 11/22/23

The last week of the NBA offseason saw an arms race in the Eastern Conference. In a move few expected until the last minute, Milwaukee traded for Damian Lillard, pairing him alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, something that may have saved the Bucks’ future. That trade saw Bucks guard Jrue Holiday be moved to Portland before being traded again to the Boston Celtics just a few days later in a package including Robert Williams III and Malcolm Brogdon. Jrue Holiday joins a stacked roster that traded for Kristaps Porzingis earlier in the summer. The duo already dubbed “Freaktime” will be one of, if not the best duo in the league with both players averaging over 30.0 PPG. For Boston, the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have proven why they are one of the best pairings in the league, leading their team to multiple Eastern Conference Finals runs, as well as a top-three offense and defense last season. These two teams without a doubt will be the top of the Eastern Conference. Unless something goes wrong, this early season matchup is likely to be a preview of the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals.

Los Angeles Clippers v. Los Angeles Lakers 2/28/24

Since LeBron James joined the Lakers in the 2018-19 season, the rivalry between the Lakers and Clippers has been star-studded. Since that season, the Clippers have won 15 of their 19 matchups. Heading into the season, the superstars of both teams are expected to be healthy their respective teams are expected to be championship contenders, but only if their healthy. While the teams are set to meet three times in the first half of the season, this post-All-Star Break matchup may be the big matchup we see between these teams for some time. With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both having player options after this season, it’s possible one or both of those players could leave. Recent reports have noted PG and the Clippers have talked about extension, but George has said both sides have to be on the same page. For Kawhi, there have been no reports of extension talks at this point. With the Intuit Dome expected to be open by the time the 2024-25 season starts, this will be the last season the Clippers and Lakers share Crypto.com Arena.

Dallas Mavericks v. Brooklyn Nets 2/6/24

This early February matchup seeing the Dallas Mavericks traveling to Brooklyn to face the Nets may be one of the least talked about games of the season. Following the 2023 trade deadline, the Nets would go 13-15 in their last 28 games of the season. The one bright side to the Nets post-trade deadline was the emergence of Mikal Bridges. Following the trade from Phoenix, Bridges would jump from 17.2 PPG to 26.1 PPG. Even though the expectations are low this season, there is plenty of excitement for what Bridges can do in his first full season as the number one option. For Dallas, it was a season of two halves. Prior to the Kyrie Irving trade, they were fourth in the West with a 30-26 record. Following the trade that saw them lose key defensive players for Irving, Dallas would drop all the way to 11th, missing the playoffs entirely in favor of late-season tanking. Dallas had some solid additions this offseason, leaving expectations mixed for the 2023-24 season. The key story of this matchup will be Kyrie Irving’s first return to Brooklyn, as he played 40 or fewer games in three of his four seasons there due to off-court controversies and several injuries. The Brooklyn crowd will likely show their feelings for Irving, who many Brooklyn fans see as the reason for the falling apart of Brooklyn’s big three.

San Antonio Spurs v. Philadelphia 76ers 1/22/24

This early matchup between the Spurs and Sixers is must-watch for several reasons. The most obvious reason is the 2023 #1 overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama. Wemby has been one of the most talked about basketball players in the world over the last couple of years. With this matchup taking place in the second half of the season, the basketball world will have seen plenty of Wemby on the main stage in the NBA. The Spurs will match up against the Nuggets and Nikola Jokic as well as the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis in the first half of the season, but this second-half matchup against the Sixers is the one to watch. There is no telling how the Sixers will look come January given the James Harden situation, but they will have the 2023 MVP in big man Joel Embiid. Easily one of the most physical bigs in the game, Embiid will be one of Wembanyama’s toughest challenges in his rookie season.