The Los Angeles Lakers have announced their schedule for the 2025-26 NBA season. At the same time, the team confirmed that they will unveil a statue for legendary head coach Pat Riley.
The Lakers will begin the season with an Opening Day Game against the Golden State Warriors. They will also play on Christmas Day against the Houston Rockets. The Riley statue will be unveiled on February 22nd, a night hosting the Boston Celtics.
Lakers 2025-26 Schedule
Both the Lakers’ Opening Day and Christmas games were previously announced by Shams Charania days before their full schedule was released in mid-August.
Along with those, other notable matchups include October 24 vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves, November 28th against the Dallas Mavericks, January 28th against the Cleveland Cavaliers, February 20th vs. the Los Angeles Clippers, and April 2nd against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Other quirks for their schedule for next year include having 14 back-to-back games, playing one game in eight days in mid-November, an 11-day home stand, and a 15-day road trip.
While Los Angeles doesn’t differ from other teams around the league in announcing their schedule, next year will bring many different storylines on a team that has been highlighted by attention, scrutiny, and publicity throughout the history of the franchise.
Among those are Luka Doncic, coming off a weight loss journey and signing a three-year deal to stay with the Lakers until at least 2028. The other, and perhaps more intriguing storyline, is that of LeBron James. The four-time Finals MVP picked up his player option for this year, making him a free agent next summer.
The team also made the offseason additions of Marcus Smart, Deandre Ayton, and Jake LaRavia to play alongside Doncic, James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and the rest of their roster.
After losing in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, Doncic and general manager Rob Pelinka believe the Lakers have a strong shot at winning the NBA Finals in 2026.
Pat Riley Statue
Riley coached the Lakers from 1981 to 1990. He led the ‘ShowTime’ team featuring Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and other Hall of Fame players to four championships: 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988.
Riley had a 533-194 (.733) record while coaching the team, including nine straight 50-win seasons, five straight 60-win seasons, and 102 total postseason wins, according to the Associated Press.
Riley also played for the Lakers from 1970 to 1975, and was a broadcaster for the team before becoming an assistant coach in 1979.
Though Riley made his coaching mark with the Lakers, he is the only coach to win Coach of the Year with three different teams. He led the New York Knicks from 1991 to 1995, and the Miami Heat from 1995 to 2003 and 2005 to 2008, winning the title in 2006. He is currently the president of the Heat.
Riley’s five total NBA championships put him tied for third most by a coach. The Basketball Hall of Fame inducted him in 2008, and many consider him one of the greatest coaches of all-time.
Riley will join other notable Lakers’ greats at their Star Plaza in February. Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal, and broadcaster Chick Hearn are the others with statues, with Riley becoming the first coach to join the legends.
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