NBA Training Camps 2024: Start Dates, Schedules and Top Storylines to Watch
The 2024-25 NBA season is almost upon us with the arrival of training camps and preseason action.
With new faces in new places, coaches ready to craft their legacies with new teams and superstar names chasing NBA titles, fans will soon have a sneak peek of what their favorite teams will look like entering the regular season.
Find out what the training camp and preseason schedule looks like and which storylines have dominated the offseason with this preview.
Training Camp Dates and Schedule
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September 25: Training camps open for all teams participating in preseason games outside of North America.
September 26: Denver Nuggets media day.
September 30: First allowable date for for all other veteran players to report to their teams (no earlier than 11 a.m. local time).
September 30: Media day for remaining 27 teams.
October 1: NBA Training camps open.
October 4: Preseason games begin.
October 4 & 6: NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2024 (Celtics vs. Nuggets).
October 6: NBA Canada Series (Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards in Montreal).
October 12-13: Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend (Springfield, Massachusetts).
October 18: NBA preseason ends.
October 21: Rosters set for NBA Opening Day.
October 22: Start of 2024-25 NBA regular season.
The New-Look 76ers
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The Philadelphia 76ers were one piece away from competing for a title in the Eastern Conference, and they added that on July 1 in the form of Paul George on a four-year, $212 million max contract.
The nine-time All-Star joins Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey on a Sixers team with high hopes and great expectations now that it has its third star. All three were All-Stars a year ago and the fit could not be better.
He is "all in" with the team, too.
"Where they're at and where they're trying to go and where I'm trying to get to, as well," he told reporters at his introductory press conference. "I think we got a real legitimate shot. I've always been a fan of Tyrese and Joel from afar, and Joel has secretly been one of my closest All-Star Game friends. And so, it kind of felt inevitable that at some point we would link up and be teammates."
Embiid is a dominant big man, Maxey is one of the most explosive young guards in the league, and George brings his two-way play at the wing to the mix.
On paper, they complement each other well and barring any major injuries, the Sixers should be one of the favorites to win the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia has also added depth behind its superstar trio, signing Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond, and re-signing guard Kelly Oubre Jr.
Whether that was enough to make up for losing Nicolas Batum, Mo Bamba, Buddy Hield and Tobias Harris remains to be seen, but the starting lineup is one of the most promising and talented the team has had in some time.
JJ Redick's Los Angeles Lakers
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The future of the Los Angeles Lakers, and the end of LeBron James' career, is in the hands of first-time head coach JJ Redick.
The team announced the former player and ESPN analyst as its new coach in June, and the reaction fell into one of two categories: Fresh optimism or total disbelief.
On one hand, Redick brings a fresh take on the head coaching gig that would not have existed had the team looked at bringing in someone with several stops in the league.
On the other, the 40-year-old had never coached a single minute of NBA basketball and simply playing in the league does not give him the expertise needed to guide one of the most storied franchises in professional sports history to another championship.
Redick understood that sentiment, though, and wasted little time addressing it at his introductory press conference.
"I have never coached in the NBA before. I don't know if you guys have heard that," he said before turning his attention to addressing why now and why the Lakers were the right spot for him to kick off his new career.
"It starts with the desire to serve players, to serve the Lakers organization, to serve our fans," he said. "It's also about competition and performance, collaboration, leadership … these are the things that drive me."
James and Anthony Davis opted into their deals for the 2024-25 season and will serve as the foundation of a Lakers team that underwhelmed last season, thanks to injuries and inconsistent play.
Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and D'Angelo Russell are all back. Gabe Vincent, Christian Wood and Cam Reddish are all back after injury-plagued 2023-24 campaigns. Dalton Knecht and Bronny James were added via the draft and should make up the foundation of the team's future.
There are pieces for Redick to work with and if the team can remain healthy, there is no reason to believe they will not be contenders in the playoffs. Whether they can run at the top of a loaded Western Conference that includes the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves—all teams better than them a season ago—is the question.
So, too, is how long a leash Redick will have to return L.A. to its championship glory. The team has gone through Luke Walton, Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham since James' arrival in 2018.
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