NBA Schedule Release: Leaked primetime opening night slate

The opening night primetime slate for the 2022-23 NBA season has been leaked.

The entirety of the 2022-23 NBA schedule is slated to be released later this week (specifically Wednesday) but leaks have already begun to emerge. Over the weekend, the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule was released.

Slowly and slowly, we’re getting a clearer view of what we can expect this NBA season. On cue, the league’s opening night primetime slate has also been reported.

Per Shams Charania, the NBA’s opening night will feature the Philadelphia 76ers facing off against the Boston Celtics on the road and the Los Angeles Lakers opening against the Golden State Warriors on banner night.

This particular slate is interesting for a few reasons.

For one, LeBron James is still a big draw for the league. Despite not making the playoffs last season, the Lakers are getting a slot on opening night. Not the Phoenix Suns, not the LA Clippers, or not even the Dallas Mavericks.

The Lakers. LeBron.

Additionally, the Boston Celtics get the nod to host the first game of the primetime slate. The defending Eastern Conference champs will get a chance to send a message early to the rest of the league.

But, at least in my opinion, it’s their opponent that is the most interesting. The Philadelphia 76ers got the nod over both the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat.

The spot on opening night and on Christmas Day tells me that the league is really leaning into the Sixers as a viable contender in the Eastern Conference. And with a healthy James Harden and Joel Embiid, there’s no question that the Sixers could be all that and more.

When the full schedule is released later this week, I fully anticipate the Sixers getting a healthy amount of primetime games too.

The NBA schedule will be out soon. That means were one step closer to the official start of the new season.