In less than seven weeks the 2023-24 NBA season will begin, with the defending champion Denver Nuggets hosting the Los Angeles Lakers on October 24th. There is still waiting to be done, but all too soon basketball will be back.
The official start of the cycle for all 30 teams will be training camp, when the players and coaches all return from their far-flung summer destinations and begin the hard work of building chemistry, learning plays and getting ready to do war.
When do NBA Training Camps start?
Many players are already in their home markets, working out at the team facilities and getting reps with their teammates on the court. The official reporting, when players and coaches can start sanctioned practices, has to wait for the league-mandated date.
For the two teams playing preseason games in Abu Dhabi to kick off the preseason slate — that would be the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves — that date is the earliest. Their training camp officially kicks off on September 26th. The following day, on September 27th, other teams playing preseason games outside of North American will report.
The rest of the league waits another week, with training camp kicking off on October 3rd (veterans may report the day before). Those teams will have exactly three weeks before the season begins.
When does the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Training Camp start?
The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing a regular season game in Paris, France in January, but their four-game preseason slate is taking place entirely in the United States. That means that their veterans will be allowed to officially report on October 2nd, and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Training Camp officially starts on October 3rd.
This training camp will be important for integrating the new additions to the roster. How will players like Max Strus, Ty Jerome and Georges Niang fit in? It will also be an opportunity for Cleveland to see how their young players have grown over the summer. Is Evan Mobley ready to make an offensive leap? What is Darius Garland ready to do next year? Is Dean Wade’s shoulder healthy?
The Cavaliers have a big season ahead of them, and for the entire league increased parity and a high talent level on all 30 teams will make for a highly-contested regular season. With the In-Season Tournament and new thresholds for individual awards, this year could feature a lot of fireworks. It will all begin on September 26th.