TNT’s 2017-18 NBA Regular Season Schedule to Feature 67 Games, Highlighted by NBA Opening Night on Tuesday, Oct. 17, Christmas Night Telecast, MLK, Jr. Day Tripleheader & Players Only Franchise Returning in January

Opening Night Doubleheader to Showcase NBA Champion Warriors vs. New-Look Rockets & Eastern Conference Finals Rematch – Cavaliers vs. Celtics with Gordon Hayward – on Tuesday, Oct. 17

Network’s Holiday Schedule to Feature MLK, Jr. Day Tripleheader, Jan. 15, Including NBA Finals Rematch – Warriors vs. Cavaliers – & Rockets’ Paul Visiting Former Clippers Team; Special Christmas Night Game on TNT with Lakers vs. Timberwolves in Action

TNT’s Innovative Players Only Franchise – Former Professional Players in all Broadcast Roles – Expands to Nine Weeks, Debuting on New Night, Tuesday, Jan. 23, with Cavs vs. Spurs & Celtics vs. Lakers

Turner Sports, entering its 34^th consecutive year of NBA coverage, will feature a 67-game schedule during the 2017-18 NBA regular season including a marquee Opening Night doubleheader, special Christmas night match-up, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day tripleheader and the return of Players Only telecasts on nine Tuesdays beginning in January.  The network will showcase the league’s biggest stars, including 12 appearances each by the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder; 11 appearances by the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers; nine each by the San Antonio Spurs and LA Clippers; and seven by the Washington Wizards and Minnesota Timberwolves.  TNT will televise 20 Thursday night doubleheaders and 11 on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season.

TNT will officially tip off the 2017-18 NBA regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 17, with a premier doubleheader featuring the NBA Champion Warriors, with former Kia NBA Most Valuable Player award recipients Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, hosting the explosive Rockets with Chris Paul playing his first regular season game alongside James Harden at 10:30 p.m. ET. Preceding the Rockets/Warriors matchup, TNT will televise a rematch of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals – the Celtics and off-season acquisition Gordon Hayward joining Isaiah Thomas vs. the Cavaliers and four-time Kia NBA MVP LeBron James at 8 p.m.

TNT’s coverage of Autotrader Premiere Week will continue Thursday, Oct. 19, with a doubleheader featuring the Thunder, with reigning Kia NBA MVP Russell Westbrook and new addition Paul George, hosting the New York Knicks, with Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, at 8 p.m.  The night’s second game will feature the Lakers and the debut of rookie Lonzo Ball as they host the Clippers and Blake Griffin at 10:30 p.m.

The network will also showcase a Christmas Night game on Monday, Dec. 25 – the Lakers and Ball hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Karl-Anthony Towns and off-season acquisition Jimmy Butler, at 10:30 p.m.

Additionally, an NBA on TNT tripleheader on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Monday, Jan. 15) will showcase an NBA Finals rematch between the Warriors and Cavaliers at 8 p.m.  The night’s game coverage will begin with the Lakers visiting the Memphis Grizzlies and Mike Conley at 5:30 p.m., and the tripleheader will conclude with the Rockets and Paul visiting his former team, the Clippers, and Griffin, at 10:30 p.m.

TNT’s innovative Players Only franchise – with former professional basketball players in all broadcast roles – will return for its second year starting Tuesday, Jan. 23, with the Cavaliers and James meeting the Spurs and Kawhi Leonard at 8 p.m., followed by Celtics vs. Lakers at 10:30 p.m. TNT’s Players Only telecasts will regularly air on Tuesday nights from the series’ Jan. 23 debut through April 3.

Additional TNT regular season schedule highlights (full schedule listed below):

• Seven pairs of teams will play each other twice on TNT

o   Warriors/Rockets (Oct. 17 & Jan. 4)
o   Warriors/Thunder (Feb. 6 & Apr. 3)
o   Warriors/Spurs (Nov. 2 & Mar. 8)
o   Thunder/Nuggets (Nov. 9 & Feb. 1)
o   Cavaliers/Wizards (Feb. 22 & Apr. 5)
o   Celtics/Wizards (Feb. 8 & Apr. 10)
o   Lakers/Timberwolves (Dec. 25 & Feb. 15)

• Two of the NBA Eastern Conference’s most exciting teams – the Celtics with Hayward, Thomas and Al Horford vs. the Milwaukee Bucks, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and reigning Kia Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon, will meet on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 8 p.m., in Milwaukee. In the night’s second game, DeMarcus Cousins will visit his former team when the New Orleans Pelicans play the Sacramento Kings and Buddy Hield at 10:30 p.m.
• In their first of three straight Thursday appearances, the Rockets with Paul and Harden will host the Cavaliers with James on Nov. 9 at 8 p.m.  In the second half of the doubleheader, the Thunder and Westbrook will visit the Denver Nuggets and newly-acquired Paul Millsap at 10:30 p.m.
• Each Conference’s respective No. 1 seeds from last season will meet when the Warriors visit the Celtics on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m.  The nightcap will feature the Rockets with Harden and Paul visiting the Phoenix Suns, with Devin Booker and the No. 4 overall NBA Draft pick Josh Jackson, at 10:30 p.m.
• A matchup of two of the league’s youngest and up-and-coming teams featuring the Philadelphia 76ers, with 2017 No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz and 2016 No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons vs. the Lakers and their 2017 No. 2 overall pick Ball and 2016 No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram on Thursday, Dec. 7, at 8 p.m.
• A pair of All-Stars on new teams will meet for the first time when the Rockets and Paul visit the Celtics and Hayward on Thursday, Dec. 28, at 8 p.m.
• The Celtics will make consecutive appearances against two of the league’s youngest teams – hosting the 76ers and Joel Embiid on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m., followed by a visit to Los Angeles to meet the Lakers and Ingram as part of the season debut of Players Only, Tuesday, Jan. 23, at 10:30 p.m.
• A doubleheader featuring All-Stars with new teams – the Thunder and George hosting the Wizards on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m., followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves and Butler visiting the Warriors at 10:30 p.m.
• An inter-conference showdown between the Cavaliers, with James and Kyrie Irving, and the Thunder, with Westbrook and George, on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 8 p.m.  The Spurs and Leonard will visit the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokić in the night’s finale at 10:30 p.m.
• Conference foes – Celtics vs. Wizards – meet in the final week of regular season action on Tuesday, April 10, at 8 p.m., followed by the Rockets vs. Lakers at 10:30 p.m.

In addition to its regular-season coverage, TNT will be the exclusive home of NBA All-Star Weekend’s signature events including the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 16, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Feb. 17, and the 67^th NBA All-Star Game from Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 18.  The network will also televise more than 40 NBA Playoff games including first and second round action and the exclusive presentation of the 2018 NBA Western Conference Finals.

Live streaming coverage of all NBA on TNT games is available via http://www.tntdrama.com/watchtnt and the Watch TNT app and participating TV providers’ websites and apps. Fans will be able to access the games whenever and wherever they desire by logging in with the user name and password provided by their TV service provider.

TNT’s 2017-18 NBA Regular Season Schedule
(All Times Eastern)

About Turner Sports

Turner Sports, a division of Turner, is an industry leader in the delivery of premium sports content across all multimedia screens. Turner Sports’ television coverage includes the NBA, Major League Baseball, NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, ELEAGUE and professional golf.  The company also manages some of the most popular sports destinations across digital platforms including Bleacher Report and its top-rated app, NCAA.com and the critically acclaimed NCAA March Madness Live suite of products, PGA.com and the Sports Emmy Award-winning PGA Championship LIVE, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile sites and connected device apps.  Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, a robust collection of offerings including NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA Mobile, the NBA App, NBAGLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com.

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