Lakers Announce Dates, Times for Home Schedule in 2025 NBA Preseason

With the NBA Finals set to begin later this week, the Los Angeles Lakers are already looking ahead to the 2025-26 season.

On Monday, the Lakers announced the dates and times for their home preseason schedule beginning in early October. They will kick things off against the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena in Palms Springs on Oct. 3, and they will host the Dallas Mavericks at T-Mobile Arena on Oct. 15. They will play two games at their home of Crypto.com Arena against the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings on Oct. 12 and Oct. 17, respectively.

The Lakers are coming off a 50-32 finish to the 2024-25 season and a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. The team will spend the offseason trying to add pieces around the star duo of LeBron James and Luka Doncic in hopes of contending for a championship next season.

The preseason will be crucial for the integration of any new pieces and the development of young players like second-year guard Bronny James. One executive suggested that the 20-year-old could emerge as a rotational player during the 2025-26 campaign.

"I don't think there's any doubt that's their plan," a Western Conference exec told Sean Deveney of Athlon Sports. "I know the guy gets a lot of grief because of who his dad is, but we've seen a lot of tape on (Bronny) and the fact is, he was a lot better player in April than he was in October, and definitely in July."

The Lakers suffered from a lack of depth as their postseason run disappointingly came to a swift end, as only five players on the team averaged more than six points in the playoffs. Los Angeles will be a team to watch this offseason as it tries to build a roster worthy of title contention.