A Full 11-Game NBA Slate on Wednesday: The Lakers Host the Warriors and the Heat Host the Timberwolves in an ESPN Doubleheader as Antetokounmpo Makes His Miami Debut
The 2026-27 NBA season reaches its first full day of play on Wednesday, October 21, with 11 games involving 22 teams, every one of them a home opener, tipping off between 7 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Opening night on Tuesday featured three games, won by the Philadelphia 76ers, the Detroit Pistons and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
According to ESPN's published broadcast plans for Opening Week, its Wednesday doubleheader begins at 7:30 p.m. ET with the Minnesota Timberwolves, led by Anthony Edwards and newly acquired LaMelo Ball, visiting the Miami Heat, where two-time Kia NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo will make his official Heat debut; Mike Breen will call the game with Richard Jefferson and Tim Legler, with Lisa Salters reporting. At 10 p.m. ET, the Los Angeles Lakers and Luka Dončić host the Golden State Warriors and two-time MVP Stephen Curry at Crypto.com Arena, with Dave Pasch and Doris Burke on the call and Malika Andrews reporting. NBA Tip-Off precedes the doubleheader at 6:30 p.m. ET, featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal.
Wednesday's other nine games: the Atlanta Hawks at the Orlando Magic (7 p.m., Kia Center), the Milwaukee Bucks at the Washington Wizards (7 p.m., Capital One Arena), the Charlotte Hornets at the Brooklyn Nets (7:30 p.m., Barclays Center), the Chicago Bulls at the Toronto Raptors (7:30 p.m., Scotiabank Arena), the Utah Jazz at the Memphis Grizzlies (8 p.m., FedExForum), the Indiana Pacers at the New Orleans Pelicans (8 p.m., Smoothie King Center), the Dallas Mavericks at the Houston Rockets (8:30 p.m., Toyota Center), the Phoenix Suns at the Portland Trail Blazers (10 p.m., Moda Center) and the Sacramento Kings at the LA Clippers (10:30 p.m., Intuit Dome).
ESPN airs another doubleheader on Thursday: the Cleveland Cavaliers and Donovan Mitchell visit the Philadelphia 76ers at 7 p.m. ET, in LeBron James's regular-season home debut for Philadelphia, followed by the Denver Nuggets and three-time MVP Nikola Jokić at the Oklahoma City Thunder and two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 湖人主场、位于洛杉矶的Crypto.com Arena资料图（2023年）。照片：InvadingInvader 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经维基共享资源。 / File photo: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, home of the Lakers (2023). Photo by InvadingInvader, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-21A Full 11-Game NBA Slate on Wednesday: The Lakers Host the Warriors and the Heat Host the Timberwolves in an ESPN Doubleheader as Antetokounmpo Makes His Miami DebutThis story
- 2026-10-22Follow-Up: Edwards Scores 45 as Timberwolves Rout Heat 131-106 in Miami; Antetokounmpo Nets 35 in Heat Debut
