Toronto Raptors open NBA season on Oct. 22
NBA champs will host Kawhi Leonard’s L.A. Clippers on Dec. 11
The Toronto Raptors will begin their 2019-20 season with a championship banner-raising, and the festive atmosphere will continue with home games on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.
The team announced its schedule for the upcoming NBA season on Monday, making official previously leaked highlights such as the Christmas game and the Dec. 11 return of former Raptor superstar Kawhi Leonard, now with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Toronto will open its 25th campaign on Oct. 22 against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans, and the Raptors will celebrate their 2019 championship with a ring ceremony and banner-raising before the game.
The game will feature the NBA regular-season debut of No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson.
The Raptors will play their first-ever Christmas home game when they host the Boston Celtics at noon. Toronto’s only other appearance in the NBA’s prestigious Christmas lineup was against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in 2001.
Prior to the Christmas game, the Raptors will host Leonard and the Clippers on Dec. 11. Leonard helped Toronto to its lone NBA title last season, winning Finals MVP honours in the process, before leaving for his hometown Clippers in free agency.
Toronto will play its first road game on Oct. 25 in Boston.
The sixth annual Giants of Africa Game, which honours the life of Nelson Mandela, is on Dec. 5 versus the Houston Rockets. Giannis Antetokounmpo, last season’s MVP, will lead the Milwaukee Bucks north of the border twice — Feb. 25 and April 3.
The Golden State Warriors, who lost to Toronto in last season’s final, visit on March 16. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Danny Green and the Los Angeles Lakers make a late-season appearance on March 24.
The longest homestand of the season is four games from Feb. 21 to 28. The longest road swing is five games, which occurs twice: Nov. 8 to 16 and March 1 to 9.
The Raptors will have 13 backto-back games this season, one more than last year. Seven of those back-to-backs will be entirely on the road.
Toronto is scheduled to make 11 U.S. national TV appearances — six on ESPN and five on TNT.
Other highlights from the 201920 schedule:
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
There are 14 games scheduled for Jan. 20, the day honouring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., including the traditional home games for Atlanta (against Toronto) and Memphis (against New Orleans).
Europe in prime time
The schedule features 48 games that will air in prime time in Europe. That doesn’t include the Jan. 24 game in Paris between Milwaukee and Charlotte.
Four-in-fives
This will be the third consecutive season where no team gets tasked with handling four games in five days. No team will play eight games in 12 days, either — though there are 19 instances of teams having to play five times in a span of seven days.
Closing night
The regular season ends with 13 games on April 15. Miami, Detroit, Denver and Utah all finish on April 14. The playoffs start April 18.