The NBA schedule has dropped today and as always there’s plenty of matches to circle early on.
Whether it’s the opening night matchups between the Eastern Conference heavyweights Boston and Philly, or the banner raising game between the Warriors and the Lakers, there’s plenty to look forward to!

The newly announced rivalry week though has everyone talking, and there’s some new and old rivalries to take a look at.
NBA Rivals Week will feature 11 nationally televised games over 5 days (January 25-29).

You can’t talk NBA Rivals Week without mentioning one of the biggest in the game, as the Lakers and the Celtics headline the big week.
Los Angeles and Boston will feature on the last day of rivalry week and what a way to wrap things up, as LeBron and AD travel to Boston to face one of the toughest crowds in the league.
Boston will look to build on what was one of their best seasons in recent memory, and will want to show the league that last season was no fluke and go one better.
LeBron and AD will be looking to restore pride in the purple and gold, with last season being a complete train wreck for the Lakers faithful.

The Clippers will also feature in the big week, facing off against their cross-town rivals at Crypto.com arena to open things up on January 25 (on the road).
Kawhi and Paul George will also be looking to get the Clippers back in the Championship hunt, both missing a lot of time last season (Kawhi the entire season).
Hopes are very high within the Clippers organisation, and with a healthy Kawhi and PG, they look to be the team to beat this season out west.

Boston and Miami face off in NBA Rivals Week, as Jimmy Butler will look to make amends for his late game miss in Game 7 of the East Finals.
Butler will be hoping to have his full line-up in tact by this matchup, with the Heat on their last legs late in the recent postseason.
Both of these teams may very well look different come this game, given the talks of KD to the Celtics, as well as Donovan Mitchell to the Heat.

Watch this space.

3 Western Conference playoff matchups will also feature.
Dallas go head-to-head with Phoenix, a team they embarrassed in Game 7 of the West playoffs in the 2nd round.
The Wheels fell off in Phoenix in what was a great regular season.
Devin Booker was hurt in the playoffs, as well as an ageing Chris Paul not looking himself,
Phoenix will be looking to remind everyone just how good they were coming into the playoffs.
Luka Dončić lost his back court buddy in Jalen Brunson, but gets back Tim Hardaway Jr as well as adding some front court help in Christian Wood.

Golden State and Memphis face off against each other on January 26 and this has redemption written all over it.
Memphis lost Ja Morant in this series and there’s been plenty of talk in the offseason about the two going toe to toe again this season.
Morant will have a chip on his shoulder going into this matchup, knowing very well had he been healthy, the Grizzlies had what it took to take the Warriors down in the series.
Steph and Klay may have something to say about that in this one!
Both teams also meet on Christmas Day so this match up will have plenty of spice in it!

Memphis and Minnesota also face off, two teams that will look to permanently feature in the playoffs in the coming years.
Memphis defeated Minnesota in Round 1 of the West Playoffs last season, but this series could have gone the other way had Minnesota not had a number of late game meltdowns.
Karl-Anthony Towns gains a new front court team mate in Rudy Gobert, and defending the rim against the likes of Ja Morant will go a long way to deciding this NBA Rivals Week matchup.

Brooklyn face off against Philadelphia, where Ben Simmons travels back to Philly (for the second time in the season) to face his former team.
Philly fans won’t hold back against the former No.1 pick, and if they hadn’t got their welcoming gifts all out against Ben in their November meeting, they’ll be sure to get it out during rivalry week.

Brooklyn will also meet up with the Knicks at home, in what Knicks fans will hope to be a changing of the guard moment, depending on who is in the line-up for the Nets!

Other notable match ups in NBA Rivals Week are Denver v Philly (Jokić v Embiid), Toronto v Golden State (a rematch of the 2019 NBA Finals) and Chicago v Charlotte (Lonzo v LaMelo Ball).

As well as the NBA Schedule dropping today, the WNBA playoffs have begun and is off to a hot start!
The New York Liberty put the Chicago Sky on the brink of elimination with a huge upset in Game 1 of their playoff matchup.
Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty with 20 Points, 5 Rebounds and 5 Assists, becoming the first NY Liberty player since 2015 to do so.
Aussie Ezi Magbegor and her Seattle Storm get their title chase underway tomorrow against the Washington Mystics.

Bauky