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NBA Opening Night 2023: Both NBA Finals teams on display as Celtics host 76ers, Warriors host Lakers

The start of the 2022-23 NBA season is one step closer.

On Monday, it was reported that the 2023 Opening Night will feature both teams from last year’s NBA Finals when the Celtics host the 76ers and the Warriors host the Lakers.

There will be no shortage of star power under the spotlight of Opening Night, as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown go toe-to-toe with Joel Embiid and James Harden to get the season underway. The Celtics-76ers rivalry rarely disappoints, as there is no love lost between these two franchises still to this day.

And speaking of rivalries, we’ll get to see Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green go up against a familiar foe in LeBron James as the Warriors trio takes the floor for the first time since winning their fourth NBA championship ring. Golden State will get the first crack at the new-look Lakers, while Anthony Davis will look to start the new season off with a bang after an injury-riddled 2021-22 campaign.

For more information on when these games take place and how to watch NBA Opening Night, we have you covered below.

NBA Opening Night 2023

How to watch Celtics vs. 76ers

  • Date: October 18
  • Time: TBD
  • TV Channel: TNT

The reigning Eastern Conference champions will take on a hungry 76ers team that came up well short of expectations last season. As Tatum and Brown try and get Boston back to the NBA Finals stage after coming two wins shy of their first championship, they’ll have to go through Embiid and Harden to start the season. Embiid has a history of giving the Celtics trouble, so this will be an early test for players like Robert Williams III and Al Horford. But do the 76ers have enough firepower to keep up with Boston’s revamped roster after adding Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari in the offseason?

How to watch Warriors vs. Lakers

  • Date: October 18
  • Time: TBD
  • TV Channel: TNT

In the second game of the Opening Night doubleheader, the defending NBA champions will face off against a Lakers team that missed the playoffs entirely last season. Injuries and poor roster construction led to James missing the playoffs for just the third time in his career, but he, Davis and Russell Westbrook are coming into the new season with something to prove. Los Angeles will be put to the test right away, as the Warriors are looking just as loaded as they were last year. With James Wiseman returning from injury and other young guys like Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody expected to take a step forward, Golden State will be right back in contention for its seventh finals appearance in the last nine seasons.