CLEVELAND – The 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers will open the 2016-17 campaign, presented by Discount Drug Mart, on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at Quicken Loans Arena against the New York Knicks in a nationally televised game on TNT (8 p.m.). The team’s much anticipated NBA Championship ring ceremony and banner raising will occur that night during a very special pregame celebration on the court prior to tipoff. More details related to all opening night festivities will be released at a later date. It marks the seventh time in eight years the Cavs will kick off the season at The Q where they will play 18 weekend home dates comprised of seven Friday games, seven Saturday games and four Sunday games. The Cavaliers are slated to appear on at least 34 national television broadcasts, 19 of which will originate from downtown Cleveland at The Q, including:
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Joe Gabriele breaks down the season
- 10 games on ESPN (Oct. 28 at Toronto, Dec. 2 at Chicago, Dec. 7 at New York, Jan. 4 vs. Chicago, Jan. 11 at Portland, Feb. 1 vs. Minnesota, Feb. 15 vs. Indiana, March 1 at Boston, March 12 at Houston and April 5 at Boston.
- 9 games on TNT (Oct. 25 vs. New York, Nov. 3 vs. Boston, Dec. 1 vs. L.A. Clippers, Dec. 29 vs. Boston, Jan. 16 at Golden State, Feb. 9 at Oklahoma City, Feb. 23 vs. New York, March 27 at San Antonio and March 30 at Chicago).
- 6 games on ABC (Dec. 25 vs. Golden State, Jan. 21 vs. San Antonio, Jan. 29 vs. Oklahoma City, Feb. 4 at New York, Feb. 25 vs. Chicago, March 18 at L.A. Clippers).
- 9 games on NBA TV (Nov. 1 vs. Houston, Nov. 8 vs. Atlanta, Nov. 15 vs. Toronto, Dec. 21 vs. Milwaukee, Feb. 14 at Minnesota, March 14 vs. Detroit, March 16 vs. Utah, April 7 vs. Atlanta and April 9 at Atlanta).
- FOX Sports Ohio will broadcast a maximum 70 regular season games on television, including all games that are not national TV exclusives.
In addition, the Cavaliers will have nine games aired nationally on ESPN Radio (Oct. 25 vs. New York, Dec. 25 vs. Golden State, Jan. 16 at Golden State, Jan. 21 vs. San Antonio, Jan. 29 vs. Oklahoma City, Feb. 4 at New York, Feb. 25 vs. Chicago, Match 18 at L.A. Clippers and March 27 at San Antonio).
For the 13th time in franchise history, the Cavaliers will play on Christmas Day. The defending champions will host the Golden State Warriors in Cleveland for their first home contest on Christmas Day since 2008. The two teams will meet again in Oakland on MLK Day (Jan. 16). The regular season will conclude at The Q on Wednesday, April 12 when the Toronto Raptors come to town.
Marquee opponents coming to Cleveland only once this season include the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, Nov. 23; the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, Nov. 25; the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, Dec. 1; the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, Jan. 21; and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, Jan. 29.
This season’s 82-game schedule again consists of 41 home and 41 road games. Each Eastern Conference opponent will match up against Cleveland four times with the exception of Brooklyn (two home, one road), Orlando (two home, one road), Philadelphia (one home, two road) and Washington (one home, two road). Each Western Conference opponent will play the Cavaliers twice, once at The Q and once on the road.
All Cavs games will again be broadcast on flagship radio stations WTAM 1100, FM 100.7 WMMS and the Cavaliers Radio Network, as well as La Mega 87.7 FM (Spanish).
Other ‘stats’ on Cleveland’s 2016-17 schedule include:
- 18 sets of back-to-back games, including one home-home set (Dec. 9-10), six home-road sets (Nov. 15-16, Dec. 1-2, Dec. 13-14, Dec. 25-26, Jan. 29-30 and April 4-5), five road-home sets (Oct. 28-29, Dec. 20-21, Feb. 14-15, March 24-25 and March 30-31) and six road-road sets (Jan. 10-11, Feb. 8-9, March 3-4, March 11-12, March 18-19, April 9-10).
- Cleveland opens the season with 10 of their first 14 games at The Q.
- Three matinee games at home this season, which include Nov. 13 vs. Charlotte (3:30 p.m.), Dec. 25 vs. Golden State (2:30 p.m.) and Jan. 29 vs. Oklahoma City (3:30 p.m.).
- Four consecutive home games from Feb. 15-Feb. 27 highlighted by visits from the New York Knicks (Feb. 23) after the All-Star break and Chicago Bulls (Feb. 25).
- Additionally, the Cavs have three-game home stands on six occasions (Oct. 29-Nov. 3, Nov. 18-25, Dec. 9-13, Dec. 21-25, Jan. 25-29, March 31-April 4) and two-game home stands on four occasions (Nov. 13-15, Jan. 2-4, Jan. 19-21 and March 14-16).
- Their longest road trip, spanning six games from Jan. 6-16, is highlighted by a MLK Day matchup with the Golden State Warriors (Jan. 16).
- Cleveland will play 17 road games from Feb. 4 through March 30, including 12 such road games in the month of March.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Information regarding single game ticket sales for the Cavs' regular season and preseason home games will be released at a later date. The Cavaliers promotional schedule, featuring special theme nights and giveaways, will also be announced at a later date.
The only way to guarantee tickets to Opening Night of the NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers 2016-17 season on DATE is to become a Wine & Gold United Member! Join today at cavs.com/enroll to guarantee seats to the Cavs historic opening night championship celebration and enjoy the benefits of exclusive members-only experiences and year-round privileges that include season tickets for the 2016-17 season and beyond!