NBA Schedule 2025-26: Teams Travel 1.29 Million Miles; Magic, Mavs Top List

The NBA regular season begins on Oct. 21. (USA TODAY)

The 30 NBA teams will travel more than 1.29 million miles during the 2025-26 season, crossing through more than 1000 time zones.

The full NBA schedule dropped Thursday. The Orlando Magic top the list by covering 55,140.7 miles, thanks in sizable part to a two-game series with the Memphis Grizzlies in Berlin and London.

The Dallas Mavericks travel the most miles of any team not leaving the Western Hemisphere. The Mavs travel 50,059 miles, including their game against the Detroit Pistons in Mexico City.

The Indiana Pacers travel the fewest miles at 35,315.30.

The NBA’s 80th regular season begins on October 21 and runs through April 12, 2026. On Opening Night, the Houston Rockets visit the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. The Golden State Warriors subsequently play at the Los Angeles Lakers. Both games will air on NBC.

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NBA Miles Traveled Team-By-Team Breakdown

The regular-season schedule includes defined dates and opponents for 80 of each team’s 82 games, along with two games designated as TBD dates and opponents. 

To determine the miles traveled by each NBA team, Bookies.com computes the distance from each arena to the next. We use the coordinates for each NBA arena and then have the distances from one game to the next calculated via ChatGPT using the Haversine Formula, which calculates distance while factoring in the curvature of the earth.

Teams are listed in descending order by the total number of miles traveled in the 2025-26 season, along with the number of time zones (TZ) and road trips (RT) taken this season. Averages and totals are included at the bottom.

#TeamMilesTZRT
1Orlando Magic55,140.703218
2Dallas Mavericks50,059.004018
3Portland Trail Blazers49,104.304815
4LA Clippers48,807.505218
5Memphis Grizzlies48,328.404619
6Golden State Warriors47,027.305119
7Miami Heat46,980.703017
8San Antonio Spurs46,429.903718
9Houston Rockets46,408.203419
10Los Angeles Lakers45,507.104716
11Utah Jazz45,256.904116
12Phoenix Suns44,502.904317
13Denver Nuggets44,457.404520
14Detroit Pistons43,843.503117
15New Orleans Pelicans43,633.803117
16Sacramento Kings43,161.204016
17Boston Celtics42,804.602918
18Oklahoma City Thunder42,234.903818
19Minnesota Timberwolves41,661.803716
20Brooklyn Nets40,788.602821
21New York Knicks39,815.202818
22Atlanta Hawks39,514.403019
23Washington Wizards39,506.802720
24Toronto Raptors37,902.402420
25Cleveland Cavaliers37,469.302720
26Milwaukee Bucks36,807.403618
27Chicago Bulls36,428.703716
28Philadelphia 76ers36,394.902819
29Charlotte Hornets35,921.602619
30Indiana Pacers35,315.302817
TOTALS:1,291,214.71,071539

2025-26 NBA Travel Superlatives: Longest & Shortest Trips

The 30 NBA teams travel 1,291,214.70 miles and traverse 1,071 time zones.

The Magic and Grizzlies play their two-game series in Berlin and London on January 15 and 18. The Magic travel 9753.2 miles and cross 12 time zones during that trip. The Grizzlies cover 9578.2 miles and go through 14 time zones total.

The Mavs and Pistons meet at Arena CDMX in Mexico City on Nov. 1. That trip adds 3,675 miles and 4 time zones to the Pistons' travel log this season. The Mavs go 1,859 miles and visit 2 time zones.

The LA Lakers take the longest road trip within North America this season. Their 8-game journey from January 20 in Denver to February 3 in Brooklyn covers 6,999 miles and crisscrosses 7 time zones.

The shortest trip in the NBA covers the 4.2 miles between Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The longest arena-to-arena distance in the NBA extends 2,704.31 miles from the Heat's Kaseya Center in South Beach to the Moda Center in Portland.

2025-26 NBA Key Dates

The Emirates NBA Cup Championship takes place in Las Vegas on December 16. (USA TODAY)
  • Oct. 2, 2025: NBA Preseason begins with NBA Abu Dhabi Games
  • Oct. 21, 2025: Regular Season starts
  • Oct. 31, 2025: Emirates NBA Cup starts
  • Dec. 16, 2025: Emirates NBA Cup Championship
  • Feb. 13-15, 2026: NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles, CA

The 30 NBA Cup teams play in six different 5-team groups that are based on teams within their conference that had the closest winning percentage last season. The Knockout Runds, finals, and championship games will take place in Las Vegas. Those games in Las Vegas are TBA and not included in our total.

All the games, save for the Cup championship final, count in the regular-season standings.

Notable NBA Cup Matchups

  • October 31: Celtics at 76ers (7 p.m. ET), Lakers at Grizzlies (9:30 p.m. ET)
  • November 7: Rockets at Spurs (7:30 p.m. ET), Warriors at Nuggets (10 p.m. ET) 
  • November 14: Heat at Knicks (7 p.m. ET), Warriors at Spurs (9:30 p.m. ET) 
  • November 21: Pacers at Cavaliers (7 p.m. ET), Nuggets at Rockets (9:30 p.m. ET)
  • November 26: Pistons at Celtics (5 p.m. ET), Timberwolves at Thunder (7:30 p.m. ET), Rockets at Warriors (10 p.m. ET).

The NBA All-Star Game tips off at the Intuit Dome in Ingelwood, California on February 15, 2026.

Get the most accurate sports betting predictions from trusted analysts to improve your winning chances

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NBA Calendar Highlights & Postseason Setup

The NBA schedules 5 games for Christmas Day. The Association finds itself in direct competition with the NFL Shield for eyeballs on the holiday. Play begins at noon Eastern and runs non-stop until the final game on the West Coast that begins at 10:30 p.m.

On Martin Luther King Day, all 30 NBA teams usually play, usually take the court, providing fans and users of betting apps with a packed schedule to follow.

The NBA is expected to bring back its Rivalry Week this season. Last season, it showcased 10 nationally televised games during the final full week of January.

The NBA offers a scheduling quirk to maintain competitive balance heading into the playoffs. All 30 teams play on the third-to-last day of the regular season (Friday, April 17) and the final day of the regular season (Sunday, April 19.) On that day. all the Eastern Conference Games begin at 1 p.m., while the interconference game and the Western Conference Games tip at 3:30 p.m.

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NBA Arena Names & Coordinates

Here are the names and coordinates for each of the 30 NBA arenas.

NBA Arenas and Coordinates













TeamArenaLatitudeLongitude
Atlanta HawksState Farm Arena33.7573-84.3963
Boston CelticsTD Garden42.3662-71.0621
Brooklyn NetsBarclays Center40.6826-73.9754
Charlotte HornetsSpectrum Center35.2251-80.8392
Chicago BullsUnited Center41.8807-87.6742
Cleveland CavaliersRocket Mortgage FieldHouse41.4965-81.6882
Dallas MavericksAmerican Airlines Center32.7905-96.8104
Denver NuggetsBall Arena39.7487-105.0077
Detroit PistonsLittle Caesars Arena42.3411-83.0552
Golden State WarriorsChase Center37.7680-122.3877
Houston RocketsToyota Center29.7508-95.3621
Indiana PacersGainbridge Fieldhouse39.7640-86.1555
LA ClippersIntuit Dome33.9438-118.3422
LA LakersCrypto.com Arena34.0430-118.2673
Memphis GrizzliesFedExForum35.1382-90.0506
Miami HeatKaseya Center25.7814-80.1870
Milwaukee BucksFiserv Forum43.0451-87.9172
Minnesota TimberwolvesTarget Center44.9795-93.2760
New Orleans PelicansSmoothie King Center29.9490-90.0821
New York KnicksMadison Square Garden40.7505-73.9934
Orlando MagicKia Center28.5392-81.3839
Oklahoma City ThunderPaycom Center35.4634-97.5151
Philadelphia 76ersWells Fargo Center39.9012-75.1710
Portland Trail BlazersModa Center45.5316-122.6668
Phoenix SunsFootprint Center33.4457-112.0712
Sacramento KingsGolden 1 Center38.5802-121.4997
San Antonio SpursFrost Bank Center29.4271-98.4375
Toronto RaptorsScotiabank Arena43.6435-79.3791
Utah JazzDelta Center40.7683-111.9011
Washington WizardsCapital One Arena38.8981-77.0209