The Lakers will host the Minnesota Timberwolves on the NBA’s Opening Night to kick off the 2024-25 season, The Athletic’s Shams Charania was first to report on Monday.
The Timberwolves, led by All-Stars Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns and the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, are coming off a 56-26 season and an appearance in the Western Conference finals.
The game will be nationally televised on TNT.
The report added that the Boston Celtics, the reigning NBA champions, will host the New York Knicks as the front end of the opening-night doubleheader. That game will also serve as the night the Celtics receive their 2023-24 championship rings and raise their latest championship banner.
The complete NBA regular-season schedule will be released later this month.
The matchup between the Lakers and Timberwolves will mark the sixth consecutive season the Lakers have played on the league’s opening night – a tradition that hasn’t gone well for the Lakers:
• 2019-20: A 112-102 loss as the “visiting team” against the Clippers;
• 2020-21: A 116-109 home loss to the Clippers;
• 2021-22: A 121-114 home loss to the Golden State Warriors;
• 2022-23: A 123-109 road loss to the then-defending champion Warriors;
• 2023-24: A 119-107 road loss to the then-defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Charania reported last week that the Lakers will travel to San Francisco to play the Warriors on Dec. 25 in a marquee Christmas Day matchup.
