The Most Important Lakers Games This Season

Today, the NBA Schedule for the 2025-26 season was officially released. It’s instantly given fans a light at the end of the summer tunnel. We are now officially 68 days away from Lakers basketball.

2025-26 LAKERS SCHEDULE: pic.twitter.com/QVOukgebt3

— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) August 14, 2025

The Lakers come in tied for first with the Thunder in the number of nationally televised games this season. There will be no shortage of games available to watch, but there are far more games than just 34, however.

With the season being a long 82-game stretch, we’ll touch on in this article the top games or stretches of games the Lakers will play in to prepare you for the long haul.

Lakers vs Minnesota, October 24th

The Lakers will not have to wait very long to get a chance at revenge this upcoming season. In just their second game of the year, they’ll play hosts to the team that eliminated them in the first round, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Not only do the two teams have recent history, but Luka Doncic specifically has history with Minnesota. In most matchups against them in his career, Luka has been spectacular. On top of the highlight mix you could make just off his WCF showdown alone, Luka averages 23.9 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 7 APG against the Wolves.

Look for this game to be a battle between two fresh teams early in the season, both with superstars capable of dazzling the crowd.

Lakers @ Thunder, November 12th

Get ready for a showdown. This game will be the first time Los Angeles faces off against the defending champs, and it will be in hostile territory. The last time these two teams faced off, we were treated to quite a show.

Towards the end of last season, the two teams met twice back-to-back, both in OKC. In the first meeting, the Lakers, led by their new star Luka Doncic, dismantled the Thunder, giving many Lakers faithful hope going into the postseason. In the next game, LA rested players, so it wasn’t a true showing, but nonetheless, the Lakers held their own.

When the two teams meet this year fairly early in the season, look for this game to be a good benchmark for where the Lakers currently stack up in a loaded Western Conference.

Lakers vs Mavericks, November 28th

This game will mark the first time the Lakers play the Mavericks next season, and we as fans should be ready for fireworks. Not only will this be the first meeting between teams this season, but there will be other firsts as well.

It will be the first time the Lakers play against the number one overall pick, Cooper Flagg. It will also be the first time Dallas has had to play Luka since getting into fantastic shape. This one will dominate headlines in the days leading up and should be worth the hype. As the last game of the NBA Cup group stage, hopefully, a win will carry them into the knockout stage.

Lakers vs Rockets, Christmas Day

Collectively around the league, there’s no question who won the offseason. Houston took a two-seed from last year and managed to upgrade the top-end talent while simultaneously creating elite depth. They will be a problem.

Home for the holiday 🎁@Delta | 📆

Tickets on sale Aug 26. pic.twitter.com/8dtHcf7mBo

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) August 12, 2025

This will be the first time the Lakers meet the new and improved Rockets, and for many reasons, this one will be fun. First off, we don’t know how many more LeBron vs Kevin Durant matchups we’ll get, so any matchup between the two legends should be cherished.

You mix that matchup with a Christmas Day atmosphere, and it should be quite the show.

Grammy Trip

The Lakers are set to begin their annual ‘Grammy’s Trip’, where the team is on the road for typically the last week of January. Being on the road for that duration is tough in itself, but the matchups give no favors.

To begin the trip, LA starts out against their nemesis, the Denver Nuggets, on January 20th. Denver was another team, similar to Houston, that made massive upgrades this summer. Trading MPJ for Cam Johnson and bringing back 6th-man Bruce Brown will yield serious results.

Another test during this trip will come on January 28th when LA visits the King’s old stomping grounds. This matchup always draws attention with LeBron returning home, but with the uncertainty of his future this summer, this game could come with extra headlines.

In addition to Denver and Cleveland, the Lakers also face tough teams like the Clippers, Mavericks, and Knicks. This stretch is the definition of a gauntlet, and hopefully, by this point in the season, the Lakers will be healthy and in a groove.

Home Stretch from February to March

After the grueling Grammy trip, the Lakers will have the opportunity to put their proverbial foot on the Western Conference’s throat. From February 5th to March 14th, the Lakers will play in 18 total games. Of those 18 games, 15 are played at home.

That is almost a fourth of the season.

There are a couple of tough games in this stretch against teams like OKC, Dallas, and Denver, but it’s also riddled with games against teams like Philadelphia, Boston, and Indiana, among others, which are also very winnable. Look for the Lakers to capitalize on this stretch to either maintain their position or move up the standings.

Back-to-Back Games Against Houston in March

Similar to the OKC back-to-back we got last season, this will be equally as tough. The Lakers will travel to Houston to play the Rockets on March 16th, with their next game scheduled for March 18th, also against Houston.

With these games being so late in the season, it will be a helpful test. By that point, we’ll be 67 games into the season, and the trade deadline will have come and gone. The teams we watch will be very close to their playoff iteration.

Hopefully, the Lakers will be able to capture both and prove to themselves and the rest of the conference that they are not a team to be taken lightly come playoff time.

Other Notes

• Los Angeles will play in one more back-to-back game this season than last, taking it from 13 to 14.
• Of those 14 back-to-backs, three include no travel, and three involve just a brief one-and-a-half-hour flight.
• The Lakers have a nice stretch of rest from November 15th to 23rd, when they will only play Utah on the 15th.