Knowing the 2024-25 NBA schedule is crucial and gives fantasy basketball managers an edge in winning their league. Here’s all the important information you need to know for this season.
2024-25 Fantasy Basketball Schedule Guide
Key Dates
- Season start: October 22, 2024
- In-Season Tournament: November 12-December 17, 2024
- All-Star weekend: February 14-16, 2025
- Season end: April 13, 2025
NBA Schedule By Platform
The real-life NBA schedule consists of 25 weeks. But in fantasy, it can differ depending on the platform.
The default schedule for ESPN leagues is 22 weeks. It follows the same timeline as the NBA until week 17, where that week and the following one are combined (February 10-23) due to the All-Star break. After that, week 21 covers March 17-30 since that is when the default playoffs start, which are double weeks. The final week, 22, is also double the length, from March 31-April 13.
Yahoo leagues are a little longer than ESPN’s, totalling 23 weeks. They also differ in that week seven spans from December 2-15 due to the In-Season Tournament. The event concludes on December 17 in week eight with the championship game, but it won’t be counted in fantasy. Later in the season, the All-Star weekend falls in week 16, from February 10-13.
Finally, Fantrax leagues closest resemble the NBA schedule. At 24 weeks, the only extra-long period is week 17 due to All-Star weekend and the mid-season break.
Back-to-Backs
The number of back-to-backs has slightly increased in 2024-25 from last year, with teams averaging 14.9 this upcoming season. The Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards have the most with 16. Conversely, the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers play the fewest with 13.
Notably, no teams are playing four games in five days. Still, concerns about load management linger. The league has made efforts to limit star players sitting out games, yet that doesn’t stop many of them from resting down the line to prepare for playoffs.
Fantasy Playoffs
The playoffs typically start around early March. With the silly season shenanigans in the season’s last weeks, it’s best to conclude fantasy leagues by mid-late March. Following the real-life schedule, watch out for these teams that play two games in the final stretch:
Week 20 (March 3-9)
- Bulls
- Magic
Week 21 (March 10-16)
- Pelicans
Week 22 (March 17-23)
- Mavericks
To maximize streamers, the Nets and Wizards play a high of five games in week 21. No team plays that many after that week.
Other Observations (Real-Life Schedule)
- The teams that play one game in a week are the Clippers (February 10-16) and the Kings (February 17-23)
- The teams that play five games in a week are the Suns (January 6-12), Rockets (February 3-9), Nets (March 10-16) and Wizards (March 10-16)
- The only teams to play four games in four consecutive weeks are the Nuggets (weeks 10-13), Clippers (weeks 19-22), Heat (weeks 19-22), Knicks (weeks 22-25), 76ers (weeks 20-23), Kings (weeks 22-25) and Jazz (weeks 19-22)
- The teams with the most two-game weeks are the Nuggets, Pacers, 76ers and Jazz, with six
- The Pacers play four games for five consecutive weeks to close out the season (weeks 21-25)
