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Wizards announce 2017-18 schedule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Wizards announced today their 2017-18 regular season schedule, which is highlighted by 18 nationally-televised games including a Christmas Day matchup against the Celtics in Boston.

The Wizards tip off the season at Capital One Arena versus the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 18.  The game, which will be televised by ESPN at 7:00 p.m., will mark the first time the Wizards have opened at home since 2011 when they opened against the New Jersey Nets on Dec. 26. It marks the first time they will begin the season at home in a full season since hosting the Nets in 2008.  The Oct. 18 start is also the earliest the team has started the regular season since they opened at Detroit on Oct. 10, 1980. 

The Christmas Day game, which will be televised by ABC at 5:30 p.m., will be a rematch of the Wizards’ seven-game Eastern Conference Semifinal series against Boston. The Wizards last played on Christmas Day in 2014 when they defeated the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. 

The Wizards’ 2017-18 schedule includes a total of 18 nationally-televised games. In addition to the Dec. 25th game on ABC, 10 will be broadcast on ESPN and seven on TNT. The team will also appear on NBATV 10 times during the regular season. 

The following is the list of the Wizards’ nationally-televised games: 

Date                Opponent                   Network

Oct. 18            vs. Philadelphia          ESPN

Oct. 25            at LA Lakers                 ESPN

Nov. 3              vs. Cleveland              ESPN

Dec. 25            at Boston                    ABC

Jan. 5               at Memphis                ESPN

Jan. 19             at Detroit                    ESPN

Jan. 25             at Oklahoma City        TNT

Feb. 6              at Philadelphia           TNT

Feb. 8              vs. Boston                   TNT

Feb. 22            at Cleveland               TNT

Feb. 25            vs. Philadelphia          ESPN

Feb. 27            at Milwaukee              TNT

Feb. 28            vs. Golden State         ESPN

March 2           vs. Toronto                  ESPN

March 14         at Boston                    ESPN

March 21         at San Antonio            ESPN

April 5             at Cleveland               TNT

April 10           vs. Boston                   TNT 

Overall, the Wizards will play 23 of their 41 home games on the weekend (Friday-Sunday), with 11 of those dates falling on Friday and seven on Saturday. The team will play nine of its last 14 regular season home games on the weekend.

This season’s schedule includes four holiday games: the Christmas Day matinée against the Celtics, a New Year’s Eve contest vs. Chicago, a MLK Day matchup against the Bucks (Jan. 15) at Capital One Arena and a Valentine’s Day game at the New York Knicks. 

The home schedule also features two visits from the Cavaliers (Nov. 3 and Dec. 17), two matchups with the Celtics (Feb. 8 and April 10) and visits from Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 9), NBA Champion Golden State Warriors (Feb. 28), Houston Rockets (Dec. 29) and Oklahoma City Thunder (Jan. 30). The home finale will take place on April 10 when the Wizards host the Celtics and the schedule will conclude the next night in Orlando against the Magic.

Washington’s longest homestand is a 10-day, five-game stretch from Jan. 6 – 15; while the longest road trip will take place following that stretch during the same month – an 11-day five-game road trip from Jan. 17-27 (Charlotte, Detroit, Dallas, Oklahoma City and Atlanta).  The Wizards also have two early West Coast road trips, traveling to Denver, L.A. Lakers, Golden State and Sacramento from Oct. 23-29. They head back out West from Dec.  4-9, when they play Utah, Portland, Phoenix and the L.A. Clippers.

There are 15 back-to-backs scheduled, including consecutive home games at Capital One Arena when Washington hosts Orlando and Brooklyn, respectively, on Friday, Jan. 12, and Saturday, Jan. 13. The Wizards do not play more than three games in four nights. Last season, Washington had 16 back-to-back sets and one set of four games in five nights. 

Each team in the Eastern Conference will visit Capital One Arena twice with the exception of Chicago (Dec. 31) and Brooklyn (Jan. 13), while the Wizards will visit Indiana (Feb. 13) and New York (Feb. 14) only once during the regular season.

For more information about DC 12 Club full season ticket memberships and partial season ticket plans, please call the Wizards Ticket Sales office at (202) 661-5050 or e-mail ticketsales@washwizards.com.