LeBron to make Lakers debut at Portland, returns to Cleveland in November
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) August 9, 2018
NEW YORK — LeBron James will make his one and only visit to Cleveland on Nov. 21 when the Los Angeles Lakers play the Cavaliers in the four-time MVP’s home state.
James, meanwhile, will make his Los Angeles Lakers debut at Portland on Oct. 18 and play before home fans for the first time two days later.
The Lakers will host Houston on Oct. 20 at Staples Center.
The NBA released its complete regular season schedule Friday, two days after announcing the league’s national TV schedule.
The regular season tips off Oct. 16 with Philadelphia visiting Boston and Oklahoma City at Golden State. The season concludes April 10.
Defending champion Golden State will play Houston for the first time since their Western Conference final went seven games on Nov. 15, while Toronto visits San Antonio on Jan. 3 in the first game between the teams since their big deal swapping DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard.
Utah and Orlando will play in Mexico City on Dec. 15, while the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards will play the NBA’s ninth regular-season game in London on Jan. 17.
For the 20th straight year, the Lakers will play on Christmas Day, traveling to face the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
The league is starting the season earlier in its push to limit the number of back-to-back games with teams averaging just 13.3 back-to-backs, a drop of 31 percent from 2014-15 when the average was 19.3 per team.
No team will play four games in five days for a second straight season and for the first time ever no team will play eight games in a 12-day span.
