NBA 2025-26 Key Dates for All-Star Weekend Schedule, Trade Deadline and More
Believe it or not, the 2025-26 NBA season is nearly upon us. The Oklahoma City Thunder will look to repeat, while Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James will embark on his 23rd campaign.
It will all tip off with an October 21 doubleheader. The Thunder will host the Houston Rockets to begin the season, while the Lakers will also host the Golden State Warriors on opening night.
With that, the latest race for the Larry O'Brien Trophy will be off and running.
Here's a look at some of the most important scheduling information to know for the upcoming NBA season.
2025-26 NBA Season Key Dates
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October 21: Opening Night
As previously noted, the regular season will kick off with a doubleheader. The Rockets and Thunder will open the season at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
December 9-10: Emirates NBA Cup 2025 Knockout Round
The NBA's in-season tournament will begin elimination play on December 9.
December 16: Emirates NBA Cup Championship
The NBA's in-season tournament will conclude with the championship game, streamed live on Amazon Prime.
December 25: Christmas Schedule
As always, the NBA will provide an intriguing slate of games on Christmas. The Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks will begin the festivities at noon ET. The Thunder will then host the San Antonio Spurs, the Warriors will host the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers will host the Rockets and the Denver Nuggets will host the Minnesota Timberwolves.
All Christmas games will be aired on ABC and ESPN.
February 5: Trade Deadline
Trades must be completed before 3 p.m. ET
February 13-15: NBA All-Star Weekend
April 12: Regular Season Ends
All-Star Weekend
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The 2026 All-Star Weekend will take place in Los Angeles, with the All-Star Game being held at the Intuit Dome.
The weekend will open on Friday, February 13 with the NBA Rising Stars game, which will also take place at the Intuit Dome. The Rising Stars game serves as a showcase of rookies and second-year NBA players.
Saturday, February 14 will bring the skills challenge, three-point shooting contest and slam dunk contest. In 2025, those events were won, respectively, by Team Cavaliers, Tyler Herro and Mac McClung.
The weekend will conclude on Sunday, February 15 with the NBA All-Star Game itself. The game will actually be another three-team round-robin tournament, as was the case last February.
The 2025 tournament involved a Rising Stars team, Shaq's OGs and Chuck's Global Stars. This year's tournament, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, will involve two United States teams and one international squad:
"The NBA and the players' union presented the format to the league's competition committee on Wednesday, sources said. Governors, team executives and players discussed the format within the competition committee meeting, and the response was positive, sources said."
Three eight-player teams are expected to make up the all-star field.
2025-26 NBA Trade Deadline
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Less than two weeks before All-Star Weekend will be the trade deadline. At 3 p.m. ET on February 5, the trade window for the 2025-26 season will close. After that, teams will have to wait until the 2026 offseason to reengage in trade talks.
The trade deadline often brings a cascade of activity as championship hopefuls chase talent and likely lottery teams look to dump salary and acquire trade assets. We often see big names moved at the deadline.
Last winter, for example, the Lakers acquired Luka Dončić in a stunning deal with the Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler, while the Milwaukee Bucks acquired Kyle Kuzma.
Expect players who are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents in 2026 to dominate the rumor mill in the days leading up to the deadline. Player movement won't end when the deadline passes either.
The deadline is typically followed by a flurry of contract buyouts and a brief window of free agent signings. Teams can begin signing 10-day contracts on January 5 and must have playoff rosters set by 3 p.m. ET on April 13.
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