NBA's 58th season premieres Oct. 28 ( 2003-10-14 14:06) (Agencies)
The San Antonio Spurs begin defense of their 2003 NBA title on Tuesday, Oct.
28 when they host the Phoenix Suns at the SBC Center on opening night of the
league's 58th season.
The Spurs-Suns contest, which will feature the ring ceremony for the 2003 NBA
champions, is the first of 11 nationally televised games over six consecutive
nights and tips off NBA "Premiere Week" at 7 p.m. ET on TNT.
The second game on the schedule for TNT on opening night features the Dallas
Mavericks, 2003 Western Conference finalists, traveling to STAPLES Center to
face the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 p.m. ET. Turner Sports celebrates its 20th
season carrying NBA basketball.
NBA action kicks into high gear on Wednesday, Oct. 29 with 11 games
scheduled, highlighted by ESPN's season debut with a doubleheader featuring 2003
NBA Draft No. 1 pick LeBron James. The Orlando Magic and New York Knicks open
ESPN's coverage from Madison Square Garden beginning at 8 p.m. ET, followed by
James and the Cleveland Cavaliers facing the Sacramento Kings at ARCO Arena at
10:30 p.m. ET.
On Thursday, Oct. 30, TNT presents a doubleheader featuring the opening of
Toyota Center, Houston's new downtown arena, when the Rockets host the Denver
Nuggets at 8 p.m. ET, followed at 10:30 p.m. ET by the Cavaliers at the Phoenix
Suns.
Duncan, LeBron, Malone and Yao have starring roles during Premiere Week.
NBA "Premiere Week" continues Friday, Oct. 31 on ESPN with East meeting West
in a pair of games. In the opener, the Minnesota Timberwolves meet the two-time
defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets at the Continental
Airlines Arena beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Friday's nightcap features the Kings
hosting the Philadelphia 76ers at 10:30 p.m. ET.
NBA TV concludes "Premiere Week" with a doubleheader on Saturday, Nov. 1,
featuring the Detroit Pistons at Orlando beginning at 7 p.m. ET followed by the
Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers from the Rose Garden at 10 p.m. ET, and a
single game on Sunday, Nov. 2 when the Golden State Warriors travel to face the
Lakers at 9:30 p.m. ET.
ABC increases its regular-season schedule to 18 games beginning with a pair
of Western Conference showdowns on Christmas Day when the Mavericks face the
Kings in Sacramento at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the Lakers hosting the Rockets at
8:30 p.m. ET.
Fans don't have to wait long for a rematch of last year's six-game NBA Finals
as the Nets will face the Spurs on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at the Continental
Airlines Arena at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Game 2 of the home-and-home series will be
played on Wednesday, Jan. 21 in San Antonio.
TNT will televise 52 regular-season games, 38 as part of Thursday night
doubleheaders, six games on Tuesday nights and eight on Mondays. TNT also will
carry the 2004 NBA All-Star Game from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 15.
ESPN networks will televise 72 regular-season games, 64 on ESPN and eight on
ESPN2, with 64 aired on Wednesdays and Fridays, seven on Sundays, and for the
second straight year ESPN will carry a Christmas Day matinee from Orlando when
the Magic hosts the Cavaliers beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.
NBA TV will televise 96 regular-season games during its four-nights-a-week
schedule, and projects at least 50 of those games will be televised in High
Definition.
The NBA on ESPN Radio's 24-game regular-season schedule debuts with two games
during "Premiere Week," opening night with the Mavericks and Lakers from Los
Angeles and the Cavaliers and Kings on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The NBA on ESPN Radio
will carry all the events from the NBA All-Star Weekend Feb. 13-15.
NBA.com offers day-by-day and team-by-team schedules as well as
regular-season telecast schedules of the league's North American broadcast
partners; ABC, ESPN, TNT, NBA TV, Telemundo, Rogers Sportsnet, TSN, The Score
and the NBA on ESPN Radio.
NBA programming currently is seen in more than 210 countries around the world
in 42 languages reaching a global audience of more than 750 million households.
