NBA fans get pumped. The league released the 2016-17 schedule on Thursday. With the interesting changes that happened this summer during free agency — that caused pure joy in some fan bases and devastating heartbreak in others — there are lots of fun games coming up.
Here are five of the best match-ups.
1. Kevin Durant returns to Oklahoma City: Feb. 11 at 8:30 p.m. ET
The Warriors crushed the Thunder’s soul over and over again last season. There was Steph Curry’s thrilling buzzer-beater three in February that pushed GSW over OKC in overtime. And then there was the Western Conference Finals duel in which the Thunder gave up a 3-1 series lead to the Warriors.
After all of that, Durant decided to leave Oklahoma City to join the Warriors. His decision made a lot of people angry — from former players to the fans. Durant’s first time playing in front of the Thunder home fans since leaving will be emotional and you can bet that Russell Westbrook will be incredibly fun to watch.
(Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
2. Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers: Christmas Day at 2:30 p.m. ET
The Warriors won a record-breaking 73 games during the regular season, and they built a 3-1 series lead vs. the Cavaliers in the Finals. However, the Cavs were the ones who went home with the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Golden State, who now has an even more absurd death lineup, will be seeking revenge, while LeBron James and the Cavaliers will attempt to put on a show and give their home fans a Christmas win.
(BECK DIEFENBACH/AFP/Getty Images)
3. Dwyane Wade returns to Miami: Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. ET
Any time a star player leaves a team it’s a big deal. Wade’s departure didn’t cause nearly as much animosity as Durant’s decision, but his first time playing in front of the Miami fans in a Bulls jersey will still be emotionally charged. Although, it won’t be surprising if Wade is greeted with a standing ovation rather than a barrage of boos.
(David Banks-USA TODAY Sports)
4. Derrick Rose returns to Chicago: Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. ET
Rose left for the Knicks after struggling through an injury-riddled eight years with the Bulls. Rose is confident about the change (he called the Knicks a super team), so it’ll be interesting to see how he performs in front of the fans who instilled so much hope in him throughout his career (especially in the beginning of it) thus far.
(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
5. Dwight Howard returns to the Rockets: Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. ET
Howard has bounced around quite a bit and is now joining his fourth team in six years. He has never really been loved by any fan bases since his earlier years with the Orlando Magic. But, judging by his first press conference with the Atlanta Hawks, Howard truly believes this will be a fresh start for him. Surely he’ll want to play well vs. James Harden and the Rockets, who he spent three seasons with, and prove that he can be a positive addition to a franchise; yet at the same time, surely there will be loads of fans who want to see Howard fail.
(Brandt Sanderlin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
The very first NBA regular season game is Cavaliers-Knicks on Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. ET.
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