An opponent-by-opponent breakdown of the Warriors' 2018-19 regular season schedule.
With the release of the 2018-19 NBA regular season schedule, the Warriors now know the path they must take to make it back to the playoffs for a seventh-straight year.
2018-19 Warriors Tickets
Here’s a team-by-team breakdown (in alphabetical order) of the Warriors’ 2018-19 schedule, complete with some of your favorite GIFs.
Atlanta
Home: 11/13
Away: 12/3
The Warriors will face the Hawks (and all other Eastern Conference teams) a total of two times this season, with each team hosting a game on their own home court. The Warriors swept the season series with Atlanta last year, and have won each of their last seven games against the Hawks. The Warriors will get their first look at sharpshooting rookie point guard Trae Young on November 13, 2018.
Boston
Home: 3/5
Away: 1/26
The Celtics have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in each of the last two seasons, and looked poised for yet another successful season with a healthy Gordon Hayward in tow. Golden State and Boston split the season series last year, with each team prevailing on their home floor by four points. Stephen Curry scored a season-high 49 points in their second and final meeting, a 109-105 Warriors’ victory.
Brooklyn
Home: 11/10
Away: 10/28
The Nets improved by eight victories last season, and look to keep moving in the right direction in the year ahead. The Warriors swept the season series last year, and have won six in a row over Brooklyn.
Charlotte
Home: 3/31
Away: 2/25
The Hornets are hoping to make it back to the playoffs after missing out on the postseason last year. They’ll face the Warriors twice in a span of 26 days in February and March of 2019. Golden State has swept the season series in each of the last three seasons.
Chicago
Home: 1/11
Away: 10/29
The Warriors swept the season series with the Bulls last year, including a 143-94 home win on November 24 that marked the fourth-largest margin of victory in franchise history. The Bulls added Jabari Parker in the offseason to a strong young core featuring Zach LaVine, Lauri Markannen and Kris Dunn, and look to improve on last year’s 27-win campaign.
Cleveland
Home: 4/5
Away: 12/5
The Warriors and Cavaliers have met in each of the last four NBA Finals, including Golden State’s four-game sweep last season. If they are to meet a fifth consecutive time, Cleveland will have to do it with a considerably different look, as LeBron James has since departed for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Warriors swept the season series last year, and have won 11 of the last 12 meetings with the Cavs overall.
Dallas
Home: 12/22, 3/23
Away: 11/17, 1/13
The Mavericks have missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, a trend they hope to halt in the year ahead. They added DeAndre Jordan and first round pick Luka Doncic in the offseason, and Dirk Nowitzki returns for his 21st season in a Dallas uniform. It’s quite possible it’s the future Hall-of-Famer’s final NBA season, meaning the Warriors-Mavericks matchup on March 23, 2019 could represent Nowitzki’s final game in the Bay Area.
Denver
Home: 3/8, 4/2
Away: 10/21, 1/15
The Nuggets were eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the regular season last year, despite finishing 10 games above .500. With a core featuring Nikola Jokic, Paul Milsap, Will Barton, Gary Harris and Jamal Murray, Denver appears poised to bring an end to a five-year postseason drought. The Warriors and Nuggets split their four-game season series last year, marking the 15th consecutive year Denver has won at least one regular season game against Golden State.
Detroit
Home: 3/24
Away: 12/1
The Pistons gave the Warriors a fair amount of trouble last season, defeating Golden State at Oracle Arena, before the Dubs bounced back with a four-point victory in Detroit. They’re likely to go as far as their frontcourt will take them, as Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond form one of the more imposing front lines in the East. Those two will be supported by two-time NBA Champion Zaza Pachulia, who signed with the Pistons in the offseason.
Houston
Home: 1/3, 2/23
Away: 11/15, 3/13
The Rockets finished the regular season last year with the best record in the NBA, marking the first time in four years the Warriors didn’t achieve that designation. They prevailed in two of the three regular season matchups with the Dubs, including a 122-121 victory at Oracle Arena on Opening Night. Of course, Golden State ultimately got the last laugh after defeating Houston in a hard-fought seven-game Western Conference Finals series, which saw the Warriors win the decisive game on the Rockets’ home floor. James Harden, Chris Paul, Eric Gordon and Clint Capela return for another run together, and don’t be surprised if another Warriors-Rockets playoff battle is on the horizon.
Indiana
Home: 3/21
Away: 1/28
The Pacers were one of the best surprises in the NBA last year, finishing fifth in the East before losing in seven games to Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs. They were the only team in the league to sweep the season series with the Warriors last year, winning both games by double digits. The Dubs will get their first shot at ending their two-game losing streak against the Pacers on January 28, 2019.
L.A. Clippers
Home: 12/23, 4/7
Away: 11/12, 1/18
It’s a new era in Clipperland, as they’ll enter a regular season campaign without either Chris Paul or Blake Griffin on the roster for the first time in nine seasons. Lou Williams is still on the team though, and he scored 50 points in Los Angeles’ lone victory over the Warriors last year, the most points Golden State allowed to any opposing player throughout the 2017-18 season. Overall, the Warriors have won 13 of the last 14 meetings between the two teams.
L.A. Lakers
Home: 12/25, 2/2
Away: 1/21, 4/4
The Lakers have missed the playoffs in each of the last five seasons, their longest playoff drought in franchise history. That drought figures to come to an end in the upcoming season, however, after the Lakers signed LeBron James as a free agent in the offseason. Golden State has seen more than their fair share of James over the last four years, facing him a grand total of 25 times, including matchups on both Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day each of the last three seasons.
Memphis
Home: 11/5, 12/17
Away: 3/27, 4/10
The Grizzlies’ seven-year run of making the playoffs came to an end last season, after Memphis finished with the second-worst record in the league. They still managed to earn a victory over the Warriors, though, defeating Golden State 111-101 in the third game of the season. The Dubs bounced back and beat the Grizzlies in their final two encounters of the year, including a 141-128 home victory on December 30th in which Stephen Curry scored 38 points, including 10 three-pointers. With first round pick Jaren Jackson Jr. joining holdovers Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, Memphis figures to be an improved team in the year ahead.
Miami
Home: 2/10
Away: 2/27
The Heat made the playoffs for the second time in three years last season, and have retained a lot of continuity heading into the 2018-19 campaign. Golden State has prevailed in 10 of the last 13 meetings with Miami, including two double-digit wins a season ago by an average margin of victory of 22.5 points per contest.
Milwaukee
Home: 11/8
Away: 12/7
There are few players in the league capable of generating as much excitement as the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. He’s been named an All-Star and led Milwaukee to a playoff berth in each of the last two seasons, and enters the year ahead as one of the leading MVP candidates. He scored 32 points in a 116-107 road victory over the Warriors last season, and makes his one and only appearance at Oracle Arena on November 8, 2018.
Minnesota
Home: 11/2, 12/10
Away: 3/19, 3/29
The Western Conference playoff race is going to be a battle once again this season, and the Timberwolves figure to be right in the thick of it. Between Karl-Anthony Towns, Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota possesses a trio that measures up with that of nearly any other team in the league. Golden State won two of the three games against the Timberwolves last season, but they’ve suffered at least one defeat to Minnesota in each of the last three years.
New Orleans
Home: 10/31, 1/16
Away: 4/9
The Warriors won three of the four regular season matchups with the Pelicans last year before defeating New Orleans in five games in the Western Conference Semifinals. The first three of those encounters featured DeMarcus Cousins in a Pelicans’ uniform, but the next time they face each other, Cousins will be a member of Golden State after he signed with the Dubs as a free agent in the offseason. Despite losing Cousins, the Pelicans still have plenty of talent to make a run at another playoff berth. Jrue Holiday proved to be one of the best guards in the West last season, and forms a deadly two-man game with perennial All-Star Anthony Davis.
New York
Home: 1/8
Away: 10/26
The Warriors swept the season series with the Knicks last season, and have never lost to New York in the Steve Kerr era. The Knicks will try to end a five-year playoff drought, and will likely go as far as talented big man Kristaps Porzingis can take them. New York will make their only appearance at Oracle Arena on January 8, 2019.
Oklahoma City
Home: 10/16, 11/21
Away: 3/16
The matchups between the Warriors and Thunder always seem to be of the high intensity variety, and there’s no reason to expect that to change in the year ahead. Between Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Steven Adams, Oklahoma City has the talent to compete with anyone. They split the season series with the Warriors last year, winning their first two encounters before Golden State rebounded with consecutive victories.
Orlando
Home: 11/26
Away: 2/28
The Warriors won both games against the Magic last season, marking the fifth consecutive year they swept the season series with Orlando. In the second and final of those victories, Golden State recorded an NBA season-high 46 assists, one shy of matching the franchise record of 47. After adding first round pick Mohamed Bamba to holdovers Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac, Orlando now boasts perhaps the most athletic frontcourt in the entire league. Expect lots and lots of dunks and blocks.
Philadelphia
Home: 1/31
Away: 3/2
The Sixers made the leap last year, improving their win total by 24 victories and making the playoffs for the first time in six years. Between Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, Philadelphia possesses one of the top young duos in the entire league, and they’re only expected to get better with more seasoning. Golden State beat Philadelphia twice in a span of eight days to sweep the season series last year, but it wasn’t as if the games weren’t competitive. On November 11 at Philadelphia, the Warriors won 124-116, despite trailing 74-52 at halftime. The Sixers are expected to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this season, and they’ll make their only appearance at Oracle Arena on January 31, 2019.
Phoenix
Home: 10/22, 3/10
Away: 12/31, 2/8
The Suns had the worst record in the league last season, so there’s nowhere to go but up. They’ve since added some talented reinforcements in first overall pick DeAndre Ayton and fellow first rounder Mikal Bridges, who will join Devin Booker and Josh Jackson to give Phoenix a talented young core with loads of potential. The Warriors swept the four-game season series with the Suns last year and have won 15 in a row over Phoenix, but better days lie ahead for Golden State’s divisional foe.
Portland
Home: 11/23, 12/27
Away: 12/29, 2/13
The Trail Blazers finished with the third-best record in the Western Conference last season, and have now reached the playoffs five years in a row. They were one of four teams in the league to win the season series over the Warriors last season, defeating Golden State in two of their three matchups. In Portland’s two victories, Kevin Durant combined for 90 points, including a season-high 50-point output in a six-point defeat just after the All-Star break. Between Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, the Blazers possess one of the top backcourts in the entire NBA. Of course, between Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors will feel comfortable putting their backcourt up against any other in the Association.
Sacramento
Home: 11/24, 2/21
Away: 12/14, 1/5
For the first time in the Steve Kerr era, the Kings didn’t lose the season series to the Warriors last year. They split the four games with Golden State, achieving both of their victories at Oracle Arena. The NorCal rivalry will be renewed when they meet for the first time this season in Oakland on November 24, 2018.
San Antonio
Home: 2/6
Away: 11/18, 3/18
Before eliminating the Spurs in five games in the first round of the playoffs, the Warriors won the regular season series with San Antonio for the second time in three years, prevailing in three of their four matchups. Of course, Kawhi Leonard didn’t play in any of those games, and he’s since been traded to Toronto for a package including All-Star DeMar DeRozan. Tony Parker has also moved on to Charlotte, so it’s a brand new era of sorts in San Antonio. The Spurs haven’t missed the playoffs since 1997, and as long as Gregg Popovich is around, it would be unwise to take them lightly.
Toronto
Home: 12/12
Away: 11/29
Speaking of the Raptors, it’s a new era in Toronto as well. In addition to acquiring Leonard, the Raptors have a new head coach in Nick Nurse, who will take over a roster that won 59 games and finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference last season. Golden State swept the season series with Toronto last year, but won each game by only five and two points, respectively. Both teams are expected to finish at or near the top of their respective conferences once again, and the Raptors will make their only trip to Oracle Arena on December 12, 2018.
Utah
Home: 2/12
Away: 10/19, 12/19
There was perhaps no bigger surprise in the entire league last year than the success of the Jazz. Behind the play of then-rookie Donovan Mitchell and Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, the Jazz finished with the fifth-best record in the West for the second consecutive year. In fact, Utah was the only team in the NBA to beat the Warriors three times in the regular season. The two sides will renew acquaintances when they meet for the first time on October 19, 2018.
Washington
Home: 10/24
Away: 1/24
The Wizards have made the playoffs four out of the last five years, but have failed to make the Conference Finals at any point in that stretch. They’ve since added Dwight Howard in the offseason to the existing core of John Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter with the hopes it will push them over the top. Washington will make their only visit to Oracle Arena on October 24, 2018, while the Warriors will return the favor and close out the season series in the nation's captial on January 24, 2019.