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Raptors Release 2017-18 Schedule

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday their 2017-18 regular season schedule. The club will tipoff its 23 rd season in the National Basketball Association at Air Canada Centre on Thursday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. versus the Chicago Bulls. The October 19 start and April 11 finale will be the earliest in club history. This also marks the eighth time in the past nine seasons and the 17th time in team history the Raptors have started the regular season at home. Toronto’s road debut is set for Monday, October 23 against the San Antonio Spurs.

The longest home stand of the season is four games from February 2-8. The longest road swing is six games which takes place from October 23 – November 3.

Noteworthy home games on the 2017-18 schedule include a visit from the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors on January 13. The lone visit from LeBron James and the Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers happens January 11. The Raptors will play host to the Boston Celtics on February 6 and April 4. Russell Westbrook, the 2016-17 NBA Most Valuable Player, and the Oklahoma City Thunder make a late-season appearance at Air Canada Centre on March 18.

The busiest day for the Raptors this season will be Friday with 18 games, followed by Wednesday with 17. Friday is the busiest day at home with 12 contests, while Wednesday features a high of 14 road games.

The Raptors’ busiest month is March with 16 games, followed by January with 15 contests. The busiest home month is January with nine games, while the busiest road months are November, December and March with the Raptors facing eight games away from Toronto.

The Raptors will have 14 back-to-back games this season (down three from last season), with a high of six being a road game followed by a road game.

The 2017-18 schedule features 12 U.S. national television appearances. The Raptors will have four games on ESPN (March 2 at Washington, March 7 at Detroit, March 21 at Cleveland and April 4 versus Boston), one game on TNT (January 11 versus Cleveland) and seven contests on NBA TV.

Toronto will play its 14th season in the Atlantic Division, joining Boston, Brooklyn, New York and Philadelphia. The Raptors were a member of the Central Division from 1995-2004.

 The schedule features four games against divisional foes with two home and two away. The remaining 10 conference teams will be played twice at home and on the road except for four teams – two will be played once at home and twice on the road (Cleveland and Orlando) and two will be faced twice at home and once on the road (Miami and Milwaukee). Each Western Conference team will be played once at home and on the road.

For the 2017-18 season, Monday - Friday home games will start at 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday home games will tip at 5 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Sunday home games will start at 12 p.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Fans can receive priority access to the exclusive pre-sale of mini-packs and single-game tickets September 12 by signing up to become a Northside For Life member at Raptors.com/northsideforlife.

The Raptors’ 2017-18 local television schedule will be released at a later date. For the 12 th consecutive season, all 82 Raptors games will be aired nationally in Canada.