The 2025-2026 NBA regular season starts on October 21, 2025, and will run until April 12, 2026. The opening games will feature the Oklahoma City Thunder hosting the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors visiting the Los Angeles Lakers. This season marks the 80th NBA season with a full 82-game schedule.
For other basketball leagues, the NCAA college basketball season typically begins in early November and ends in early April, while the WNBA season starts in early summer (May or June) and finishes in October.
If the question is about the NBA specifically, the key start date is October 21, 2025.
