The Cleveland Cavaliers will be tested right out of the gate for the upcoming 2025-25 NBA season. On Tuesday, ESPN finally revealed the first games it will cover in the coming NBA campaign, including the season-opener of the Cavs, which will be against Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple.
That contest will be on Oct. 22, Wednesday, with ESPN’s coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET (Eastern Time). Also on the slate of ESPN’s Opening Week Presented by State Farm are the matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks, also on Oct. 22. The following day, Thursday, ESPN will take care of the broadcasts for the 2025 NBA Finals rematch of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers before the showdown involving the Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors on the same night.
The Cavs will be aiming to have a positive start to their 2025-26 campaign, especially with the disappointing way their 2024-25 season concluded. Despite winning 64 games and earning the Eastern Conference’s top seed in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, the Cavs only went as far as the second round in the postseason. They swept the Miami Heat in the first round before falling prey to Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers in the conference semifinals.
The Cavs are entering their second season in the Kenny Atkinson era, and he could not have asked for a much better way to start his stint with the Cavaliers as the team’s head coach, as Cleveland went on a spectacular 15-game win streak to open the 2024-25 campaign. With that feat, the Cavs became just the fourth team in the history of the league to have a 15-game win streak to begin a season.
The Knicks, on the other hand, will look to build on their deep run in the 2025 NBA postseason, where they came just two wins away from reaching the NBA Finals. New York will also take aim at winning its first game under new head coach Mike Brown, who takes over the gig after the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau.They are after revenge as well on the Cavs, who swept New York in four meetings last season.
