The NBA schedule has dropped, and it has all the drama we were looking forward to: rivalries, revenge games, stars returning to face the teams they left, and plenty of high-level clashes — and a lot of them on NBC and Peacock.

Here are 20 don't-miss games from the upcoming NBA season.

• Oct. 21: Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder. Opening night of the season and the return of the NBA to NBC for the first time in 24 years — plus the debut of the NBA on Peacock. And you couldn't come up with a better first game as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder get their championship rings from Adam Silver and raise the first banner won in the city to the rafters. All of that in front of Kevin Durant, arguably the greatest player ever to pull a Thunder jersey over his head, but a guy who was never able to win that ring in OKC. He doesn't seem too stressed about it, though.

• Oct. 24, Detroit Pistons at Houston Rockets. Twins Ausar Thompson (Detroit) and Amen Thompson (Houston) go head-to-head in a fun early-season contest.

• Oct. 27: Denver Nuggets at Minnesota Timberwolves. The first night of Peacock NBA Monday — where games stream exclusively on Peacock — features a showdown from two of the top teams and players in the West. Get an early look at a much deeper Nuggets squad around Nikola Jokic as they go up against Anthony Edwards and a Timberwolves team that has been to the Western Conference Finals back-to-back years.

• Oct. 31: Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers. It's the first game of the NBA Cup, the league's in-season tournament. Tune in to see what the Cup Court looks like in Philly, and if Joel Embiid and Paul George are playing. If they are, Philly can hang with anyone.

• Nov. 1: Dallas Mavericks at Detroit Pistons. The NBA returns to Mexico City and is exporting what should be an entertaining contest featuring Cade Cunningham, Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis. This game will be streamed on Peacock.

• Nov. 3: Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers. Myles Turner makes his return to Indiana after bolting in free agency to get the paycheck he wanted and chase a ring with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Don't expect Pacers fans to be understanding and forgiving.

• Nov. 25: Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers. Lakers fans will be quick to tell you there is no rivalry with the Clippers, no battle for Los Angeles — then watch their reaction after you tell them the Clippers have been the better team and the better run franchise for the past decade. This is an NBA Cup showdown on NBC and Peacock.

• Dec. 25: San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder. During last season's NBA Finals, Oklahoma City players were more than happy to talk about how they felt snubbed not getting a game on Christmas Day and how they used that as motivation. The defending champs get their Christmas Day game this year, and it's a showdown between Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, the two seven-footers leading the NBA into the future. It's also a showdown of San Antonio's promising backcourt featuring De'Aaron Fox and No. 2 pick Dylan Harper against OKC's MVP SGA.

• Dec. 25: Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors. It's a passing of the torch game on Christmas — Stephen Curry and his generation are nearing the end of their run, and he faces No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg (as well as former No. 1 pick Anthony Davis). How much do Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have left in the tank? Those Warriors players always seem to save their best for the brightest spotlights, as does Jimmy Butler.

• Jan. 2: Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks. Trae Young loves to play the villain and saves his best games for Madison Square Garden, where he was once Public Enemy No. 1, and he would like to regain that crown.

• Jan. 16: Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets. More than just two of the top teams in the West facing off, this will be the first time in the season that Anthony Edwards will have the chance to go head-to-head and take down his idol, Kevin Durant.

• Jan. 19: Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland Cavaliers. The highlight of the quadruple header on NBC and Peacock on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, this very well could be a Finals preview (the Thunder and Cavaliers were the No. 1 seeds in each conference last season and are expected to repeat that feat this season). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander facing Donovan Mitchell is always going to be entertaining.

• Jan. 20, the San Antonio Spurs at the Houston Rockets. This is going to be one of the big rivalries in the NBA for a few seasons and we get to see Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson and the Rockets' deep roster try to attack a defense led by Victor Wembanyama (the preseason favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year). Also, it's a chance to check in on No. 2 pick Dylan Harper and how he is progressing in San Antonio.

• Jan. 28, Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics. Kristaps Porzingis, who helped the Celtics win a ring in 2024 but was often injured in his time with the team, returns to Boston with an Atlanta Hawks team that is deep and a threat in the East — if KP can stay healthy and provide the rim protection and floor spacing they need next to Trae Young.

• Jan. 28: Los Angeles Lakers at Cleveland Cavaliers. Trade rumors swirled around all summer with questions about LeBron's future in L.A. and how he might put Cleveland over the top one more time for a title. While that trade could not come together (and will not at this year's trade deadline for salary cap reasons), the rumors will continue to fly as LeBron returns to his old stomping grounds. This game is as much about the drama off the court as it is about the game itself.

• Feb. 22: Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers will unveil a Pat Riley statue outside Crypto.com Arena before a showdown on NBC's Sunday Night Basketball showcase. LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Jaylen Brown will look to add to the NBA's greatest historic rivalry.

• Feb. 24: New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers. This is the third showdown of the season between the two Eastern Conference favorites heading into the season — this could be a statement game. You can catch it on NBC and Peacock as part of Coast 2 Coast Tuesdays.

• March 9, Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder. A game that is part of the Peacock NBA Monday season (with the games streaming every Monday exclusively on Peacock), we get the last two MVPs — the Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Nuggets' Nikola Jokic — facing off. This also could well be a Western Conference Finals preview.

• April 5: Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks. Any time Luka Doncic returns to Dallas, it's worth watching — in this case on Sunday Night Basketball on NBC and Peacock — but this game also comes amid an offseason of rumors about LeBron potentially wanting to play in Dallas with former teammates Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. This game is also a chance to check in on Cooper Flagg and see how the Duke standout has progressed in his rookie season.

• April 5: Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors. Just a couple of weeks before the playoffs start, can Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler get revenge for their playoff exit a season ago? This game is part of a doubleheader on Sunday Night Basketball on NBC and Peacock.