The 2024-25 NBA season is just around the corner, and we’ve been hard at work breaking down the NBA schedule to find basketball road trip ideas.

It promises to be another intriguing season of pro hoops. The In-Season Tournament (aka the NBA Cup) returns for another year, while one new arena enters the landscape (more on that below).

Meanwhile, everyone will be gunning for the Boston Celtics, who won their league-record 18th championship in June.

As you might know, we create road trip idea posts on an annual basis for the NBA and for the other major sports leagues. (Check out our current posts for the NFL and NHL for more!)

If this is your first time reading one of these posts, here are the ground rules under which we work to devise these trips (though we will bend or break a rule from time to time if the game or travel opportunity is just too good):

• We looked to pack as many games into as small a timeframe as possible, at least considering typical travel times by car (we won’t suggest you travel cross-country for games on back-to-back days, for instance).
• We try to look only at trips where you’re traveling in the same general direction as you go from city to city (so no zig-zagging around).
• We tried to limit the number of times you see a particular team to twice (admittedly difficult, as many times it’s easier to plan a trip through a region because a certain team is on a road swing through it).
• And we looked only at minimum four-city trips, because longer trips are always more fun.

We find that basketball in particular presents a challenge because of the number of cities whose only major sports team is an NBA franchise. This makes the geographical landscape look a lot different than other leagues.

Keep reading to see some of the road trip ideas that the 2024-25 NBA schedule presents. And don’t forget that you can buy NBA game tickets on Ticketmaster.

1) New season, new arena

Wednesday, Oct. 23: Suns at Clippers
Friday, Oct. 25: Suns at Lakers
Saturday, Oct. 26: Mavericks at Suns
Sunday, Oct. 27: Clippers at Warriors
Monday, Oct. 28: Trail Blazers at Kings

Check off the NBA’s newest venue right off the bat: A day after the regular season officially begins, pay a visit to Inglewood, California, and see the Clippers’ opener at the sparkling Intuit Dome. You’ll probably have to pay a pretty penny for a ticket, but hey, why not start your season off by being a part of history?

We’re aware we break a rule for the remainder of this trip by including three games involving the Suns. To make things easier, you can also cut out this side trip to Phoenix and just stick to the NBA’s four California teams — checking out games at the Lakers’ Crypto.com Arena, the Warriors’ Chase Center and the Kings’ Golden 1 Center.

2) Fall through the Midwest

Friday, Nov. 8: Trail Blazers at Timberwolves
Sunday, Nov. 10: Celtics at Bucks
Monday, Nov. 11: Cavaliers at Bulls
Tuesday, Nov. 12: Heat at Pistons

Hit some of the Midwest’s NBA venues before winter sets in and makes travel somewhat difficult. Start in Minneapolis with a Timberwolves game at Target Center before heading to Milwaukee for a Sunday matinee between the defending champion Celtics and the Bucks at Fiserv Forum.

Finish off this jaunt through the 2024-25 NBA schedule with stops at Chicago’s United Center and Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena.

3) Hoops on the Eastern Seaboard

Monday, Dec. 2: Heat at Celtics
Tuesday, Dec. 3: Magic at Knicks
Wednesday, Dec. 4: Pacers at Nets
Friday, Dec. 6: Magic at 76ers
Saturday, Dec. 7: Nuggets at Wizards

After celebrating Thanksgiving the week before, rejoin the NBA season as the 2024-25 schedule hits its full stride. This itinerary allows you to check off five basketball arenas in the Northeast, starting at Boston’s TD Garden and including stops at Madison Square Garden in New York, Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia and Capital One Arena in Washington.

4) Holiday hoops out west

Wednesday, Dec. 25: Lakers at Warriors
Thursday, Dec. 26: Pistons at Kings
Friday, Dec. 27: Warriors at Clippers
Saturday, Dec. 28: Kings at Lakers
(bonus) Tuesday, Dec. 31: Grizzlies at Suns

We’re looking at California again for this itinerary that begins on Christmas Day with a big matchup: LeBron vs. Steph at the Warriors’ Chase Center.

From there you’re covering all four California NBA venues: Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Intuit Dome in Inglewood and Crypto.com Arena in L.A. And, if you’ve got a hankering for some New Year’s Eve basketball, bide your time for two days before finishing up 2024 with a Suns game at Footprint Center.

5) The spring break starter

Wednesday, Feb. 26: Hawks at Heat
Thursday, Feb. 27: Warriors at Magic
Friday, Feb. 28: Thunder at Hawks
Saturday, March 1: Wizards at Hornets

Want to escape the cold and get your fix of basketball in? Check out this stretch of the 2024-25 NBA schedule that includes stops at four arenas in the Southeast.

Start all the way down in Miami, with a Heat game at the downtown Kaseya Center. Wind your way north from there with three games in three days, stopping at Kia Center in Orlando, State Farm Arena in Atlanta and Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

6) The Southwest U-step

Wednesday, March 5: Thunder at Grizzlies
Thursday, March 6: Rockets at Pelicans
Saturday, March 8: Pelicans at Rockets
Sunday, March 9: Suns at Mavericks
Monday, March 10: Nuggets at Thunder

Visit most of the NBA arenas in the Southwest with this five-game itinerary that takes a U-shaped route, beginning in Memphis with a Grizzlies game at FedExForum. Subsequent stops include Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Toyota Center in Houston, American Airlines Center in Dallas and Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

Note that this trip does omit one NBA arena in the region: San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center. If you’ve gotta make a stop to see Victor Wembanyama in action, tack on a side trip to see the Spurs take on the Mavs on Wednesday, March 12.

7) The (international) stretch run

Sunday, March 23: Spurs at Raptors
Tuesday, March 25: Spurs at Pistons
Wednesday, March 26: Lakers at Pacers
Thursday, March 27: Lakers at Bulls
Friday, March 28: Knicks at Bucks
Sunday, March 30: Pistons at Timberwolves

With the 2024-25 NBA regular season winding down, take on this mega-trip through the Midwest, starting at the league’s only international outpost: Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.

From there, head back across the border with stops at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, United Center in Chicago, Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee and finally, Target Center in Minneapolis. Whew, what a whirlwind of hoops!

Whether you decide to do one of the journeys above or craft your own itinerary, we’d love to hear about your travel schedule during the 2024-25 NBA season! Leave a comment for us below or email us with your own ideas.