The defending NBA champions Boston Celtics will play the New York Knicks at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, in the first game of the 2024-25 regular season on October 22, according to the schedule unveiled by the league on Thursday.

The Celtics finished the regular season competitions with NBA-leading 64 wins and beat the Miami Heat 4-1, Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1, Indiana Pacers 4-0 and Dallas Mavericks 4-1 to win their 18th title in franchise history. Jaylen Brown was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.

The Knicks finished the regular season with 50 wins and came in second in the East. They beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the first-round playoffs, but lost to the Pacers in the Eastern semifinals.

The Knicks' No. 1 star Jalen Brunson accepted a pay cut by inking a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension in July, enabling the team to have enough salary space to trade for Mikal Bridges and retain OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson. Having risen as a new major contender in the East last season, the Knicks have every reason to aim for more in the new campaign.

The other game on the opening day will be between the Los Angels lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis paired with Anthony Edward for USA to beat Rudy Gobert and France to win the men's basketball gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Now Edwards will reunite with Gobert as the Timberwolves and challenge James, Davis and other purple and gold.

The Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference first-round playoffs last season. Then the Nuggets lost to the Timberwolves in the Western semifinals before the Timberwolves were knocked out by the Mavericks in the West Finals.