The 2023-24 regular season is finally here and the NBA has planned a doozy of a double-header to get us started. The defending champion Denver Nuggets will get their rings in front of LeBron James and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. After that the Golden State Warriors will host the new look Phoenix Suns, including Kevin Durant playing in front of Warriors' fans for just the first time since he left the team at the end of the 2018-19 season.
Here's the full schedule for tonight's opening night action, along with a few players to keep an eye on.
NBA schedule for tonight: October 24
Neither game will be available on League Pass because they are both broadcast on National Television stations. If you are looking to stream the games, you can use a streaming bundle like Fubo.TV (free 7-day trial).
NBA Players to watch on Opening Night:
Taurean Prince, Los Angeles Lakers
Taurean Prince, who was signed this summer, somewhat surprisingly won the starting job on Opening Night over last season's playoff darling, Rui Hachimura. It may ultimately belong to Jarred Vanderbilt once he's healthy, but the Darvin Ham sayd he valued Hachimura's offense coming off the bench and, by implication, Prince's defense in the starting lineup. This is an opportunity for Prince to carve out a consistent spot for himself in the rotation and make sure he's still getting minutes even when Vanderbilt returns.
Julian Strawther, Denver Nuggets
It can be hard to take your eyes off Nikola Jokic, for fear of missing a jaw-dropping pass or mind-bending series of post moves. But take some time to check out Julian Strawther. The rookie from Gonzaga led the Nuggets in scoring during the preseason, averaging 17.8 points per game and hitting 14-of-31 (45.2 percent from beyond the arc). Along with Peyton Watson and Christian Braun, he'll be in the mix of players trying to replace Bruce Brown and Jeff Green and seeing how much run he gets on Opening Night could be an indication of how much trust Michael Malone already has in him.
Grayson Allen, Phoenix Suns
Allen found his way to the Suns in the Damian Lillard trade and could see increased minutes on Opening Night with both Bradley Beal and Devin Booker likely out with injury. The Suns have a lot of spot-up shooters who will be fighting for minutes this season and this is an opportunity for Allen to get off to a strong start and firmly put himself in front of Eric Gordon and Yuta Watanabe in the rotation. To do that, he'll need to make open shots after he hit just 6-of-19 (31.9) of his 3s in the preseason.
Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors
Kuminga may get the start in place of the injured Draymond Green, and an opportunity to build off his incredible preseason. He averaged 21.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists across five preseason games, shooting 54.7 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from beyond the arc. Most impressively, he got himself to the free-throw line 37 times. He's been aggressive and efficient and looks ready to put last year's disappointing season behind him.
