For the first time since 2017, the Los Angeles Lakers start a season without LeBron James. Their first game of 2026-27 is Lakers vs Warriors on Wednesday, October 21, at Crypto.com Arena: Luka Dončić against Stephen Curry, 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET) on ESPN, the second half of a doubleheader after Timberwolves at Heat. The league's official Opening Night is the night before, with three games on NBC. This is both teams' opener, and for the second straight year they're opening against each other.
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles. Photo: Troutfarm27, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Luka's team now
James left for Philadelphia over the summer, ending an eight-season run in Los Angeles that included the 2020 title. That hands the Lakers to Dončić and Austin Reaves, who signed a new four-year deal to stay. JJ Redick, starting his third season as head coach, no longer has to plan around a 41-year-old's minutes. He gets a younger, faster roster built around a superstar point guard.
The front office added size and depth. Walker Kessler came over from Utah in a sign-and-trade to anchor the paint. Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton can score off the dribble, and Sandro Mamukelashvili and Ziaire Williams bring length. Warriors fans will spot a familiar face: Kevon Looney, three rings in Golden State, now in purple and gold. That'll be a strange sight for a while.
Last season went well enough. The Lakers went 53-29, won the Pacific as the West's No. 4 seed, and beat Houston 4-2 in the first round before Oklahoma City swept them in the conference semis. The goal hasn't changed. The pressure on Dončić has gone up.
Los Angeles Lakers
Golden State WarriorsCurry's 18th year, and a Warriors team in a hurry
Curry turned 38 in March. Golden State is built to win now, which makes last season sting: 37-45, the franchise's first losing record since 2020. The Warriors got past the Clippers in the play-in, then lost 111-96 at Phoenix and missed the playoffs.
Two dates did most of the damage. On January 19, Jimmy Butler tore his ACL against Miami. On February 5, the Warriors sent Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to Atlanta for Kristaps Porziņģis. Steve Kerr now has Porziņģis and Al Horford, both re-signed, two bigs who can shoot from outside, around Curry and Draymond Green, back on a one-year deal. Yaxel Lendeborg, taken 11th overall, is the young piece. Butler is still listed as injured, and nobody has a firm return date, which is the biggest unknown on this roster.
Golden State did win both preseason meetings this month, 124-98 and 101-89, and looked sharper in each. I wouldn't read much into that. Still, Lakers fans probably noticed.
The Lakers vs Warriors history that matters
The 2023 Western Conference semifinals, which the Lakers won 4-2, are the obvious reference point. Last season's series went 3-1 to the Lakers, though Golden State won the opener 119-109 on this floor. Los Angeles then took the next three: 105-99 in February, 129-101 later that month and 119-103 in San Francisco in April.
You can see why ESPN keeps putting this game on the first Wednesday of the season. The two biggest West Coast markets and two of the most recognizable players in the sport, and lately plenty of late-night finishes to go with it.
For Curry it's another opener on the road against a team that rebuilt around a younger star. He doesn't have many of those left.
Kessler, Porziņģis and the space in between
The new matchup is inside. Kessler is one of the best shot-blockers in the league, and Porziņģis is exactly the kind of center who can drag him away from the rim by hitting threes. If that happens, Curry and Green get room to cut and drive, and that's the game Golden State wants to play.
Then there's Dončić against the Warriors' defense. Green is still one of the smartest team defenders around, and he'll try to get the ball out of Luka's hands and make Reaves, Grimes and Sexton beat them. I'd expect Redick to want Dončić attacking early, before the veterans settle in.
Our pick
Openers tend to favor the team with fewer moving parts. The Lakers have the steadier core, home court, and they won last season's series 3-1. Golden State's size and shooting will cause problems, and Curry has spoiled plenty of nights like this, but without Butler the Warriors are thinner than they'd like. We'll take the Lakers, 118-112, with Dončić scoring 35 or more.
How to watch
ESPN has it nationally in the US. You can also watch Lakers vs Warriors free in HD, no signup, on DAMITV's NBA streams hub, or follow your team through the Lakers and Warriors pages. Spanish-speaking fans can use NBA en vivo. Two nights later the champions visit Boston, which we cover in our Knicks at Celtics preview. The Warriors' official site has the schedule announcement.
