When will the NBA release the 2023-24 season schedule?

The 2023-24 season will be an important year for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last year they took a big step forward in the regular season, adding Donovan Mitchell and seeing their core four stars come together to produce 51 wins and the league’s second-best net rating.

A thorough thumping in the playoffs put pressure on the team to improve in the offseason, and Koby Altman and the front office were active in adding shooting at multiple positions. This season will be about answering some crucial questions: can this team maintain last year’s level of play? Can the two-big model excel? Can this group win in the playoffs?

With the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks poised to contend once again, the Miami Heat the favorites to land Damian Lillard and teams like Philadelphia, New York and Atlanta in the mix, securing the highest seed possible will be important to set the Cavs up for success.

That’s why the Cavaliers and their fans are among the many eagerly awaiting the release of the 2023-24 NBA schedule. When will the schedule be released, and what should fans of the Cavs be watching for?

When will the NBA release the 2023-24 season schedule?

There are a lot of moving parts that the NBA has to balance when making a schedule, working with arena availability, rest days, road trips and national television partners to find something that will work for everyone. There’s a reason the schedule isn’t set in stone years in advance.

Last year the NBA released the schedule on August 17th for the 2022-23 schedule, and that sort of date makes a lot of sense this year as well. As Marc Stein mentions in his substack newsletter this week, there is a slot of time between the NBA Hall of Fame induction on Saturday, August 12th and the start of the FIBA World Cup on August 25th.

The league generally begins by trickling out news of the marquee games and opening week matchups, then releases the schedule in full a day or two after that.

What should the Cavaliers look for in the 2023-24 schedule?

The Cavs already know one game on their calendar, a showdown with the Brooklyn Nets in Paris, France on January 11th. They can therefore expect to have some buffer time for travel and recovery on either side of that game.

Otherwise, it’s something of a blank slate heading into the schedule release. Donovan Mitchell and the rest of the Cavaliers will likely be excitedly watching one particular date on the calendar, December 25th, to see if they will get a coveted Christmas Day slot.

The 2023-24 season will also bring the league’s very first in-season tournament. The Cavs will play four games on “Tournament Nights” on Tuesdays and Fridays in November against their group of five, potentially resulting in further games during the Championship Weekend.

Add on top of that all of the normal wrinkles in the schedule — back-to-backs, road trips, rest advantages, home-and-away series, and all of the tiny details that will have an underrated impact on the Cavs’ success.

Check back in as we discuss the schedule once it is revealed and highlight the biggest games of the year!