An early revenge game against the rival that ended their title defense. A string of reunions for members of the 2023-24 championship squad. The first game back in New England for a local phenom. Chances to watch a pair of aging legends.
With the Celtics’ full schedule for the 2025-26 NBA season now out, here are seven games fans should have circled on their calendars:
Wednesday, Oct. 22 vs. Philadelphia 76ers (7:30 p.m.)
Opening night. The first true look at this revamped Celtics roster, with a starting five that’ll barely resemble the one Boston fielded for the past two seasons.
We know Jaylen Brown and Derrick White will be part of that starting unit, assuming both are healthy when the season tips off. As for the other three spots? That’s anyone’s guess.
Will the Celtics promote Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard to fill Jrue Holiday’s vacant guard spot, or plug in the player they acquired in the Holiday trade, former Trail Blazers starter Anfernee Simons? Will Neemias Queta or Luka Garza get the nod at center? And who rounds out that group? Sam Hauser? Newcomer Chris Boucher? Someone else who impresses head coach Joe Mazzulla in training camp and the preseason?
That new starting lineup will make its debut against a Sixers team that’s coming off a season from hell — but that still boasts one of the East’s most talented rosters on the rare occasions when all of its central stars are healthy.
Friday, Oct. 24 at New York Knicks (7:30 p.m.; Prime)
The Celtics’ 2024-25 season ended with an embarrassing 38-point loss at Madison Square Garden. They won’t have to wait long to revisit that venue.
The Knicks will host the new-look C’s in the second game of the new season for both teams. It also will be the first NBA game to air on Amazon Prime Video, which joined the league’s rotation of national broadcasters this season along with ESPN/ABC and NBC/Peacock.
Those five networks/streaming services are scheduled to broadcast 25 Celtics games this season, including all four of their matchups with the Knicks. Though Boston has nine fewer national TV games than it had last season — and, notably, no game on Christmas for the first time since 2015 — it still has the second-most among Eastern Conference clubs (behind only New York) and eighth-most league-wide.
Friday, Dec. 5 vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7 p.m.; Prime)
One of the crown jewels of every Celtics slate, the Lakers’ lone trip to Causeway Street falls in early December this season.
Beyond the obvious appeal of the NBA’s most historic rivalry, this also surely will be one of the final games in Boston for LeBron James, who will celebrate his 41st birthday a few weeks later. The longtime Celtics foil has played more games at TD Garden than any opponent — 48 total, including playoffs, across his stints with Cleveland, Miami and LA.
Last season’s installment of this game lived up to the hype, with Jayson Tatum and Brown outdueling James and Luka Doncic in a 111-101 Celtics win.
The rematch at Staples Center is set for Sunday, Feb. 22 (6:30 p.m.; ABC).
Monday, Jan. 26 vs. Portland Trail Blazers (8 p.m.; Peacock)
Just shy of the midway point of their season, the Celtics will welcome 2024 champion Holiday back to Boston for the first time.
This also could be a long-awaited homecoming for Robert Williams III. The Time Lord has been hurt for every Celtics-Blazers matchup since Boston traded him away to acquire Holiday in October 2023.
Wednesday, Jan. 28 vs. Atlanta Hawks (7:30 p.m.)
Speaking of reunions, two days after Holiday comes to town, fan favorite Kristaps Porzingis will do so for the first of the Hawks’ two visits this season.
The Celtics traded away Holiday and Porzingis in quick succession this offseason as part of a wider effort to decrease their payroll and dip beneath the second apron of the NBA’s luxury tax, so it’s fitting that their returns will be similarly condensed.
Durability has been an issue for Porzingis, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be available for this matchup. But if the multi-talented big man can stay on the court this season, Atlanta can make some noise in a wide-open Eastern Conference.
(We’ll give an honorable mention to Luke Kornet’s first game back on Jan. 10, as that one also will be an opportunity to watch the ex-Celtics center’s phenomenally talented San Antonio Spurs teammate, Victor Wembanyama.)
Friday, March 6 vs. Dallas Mavericks (7 p.m.; ESPN)
It’s jarring how much both of these teams have changed since they met in the NBA Finals just 14 months ago. Many of the main characters from that series are either gone (Doncic, Holiday, Porzingis) or currently injured (Tatum, Kyrie Irving).
But even if it no longer feels like a Finals rematch, there will be one big reason to tune in to this one: Cooper Flagg, the first New England-raised player drafted No. 1 overall since Patrick Ewing, playing back in his home region for the first time.
The average ticket price for Flagg’s lone game at Boston College as a Duke freshman last season topped $260. Expect similarly high interest when the Newport, Maine, native visits TD Garden.
Wednesday, March 18 vs. Golden State Warriors (7 p.m.; ESPN)
As with James, Celtics fans don’t have much time left to watch 37-year-old Stephen Curry, whose team will make its once-a-season trip to Boston in mid-March.
Curry alone is worth the price of admission, but this game also could feature yet another reunion angle. Al Horford has yet to declare his intentions for next season, but multiple reports have strongly linked him to the Warriors, who can give the 39-year-old vet a better chance of contending for another championship than the Celtics can at this stage.
Horford remained a free agent as of this week, but Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said the team does not expect him to re-sign.