Aug 21, 2025 - Sports

Blazers face brutal early-season schedule

Kale Williams

Basketball player in a black Portland jersey with number 16 holds a basketball, preparing to pass or shoot, in an indoor arena with blurred spectators in the background. — The Blazers will need all the help they can get from Yang Hansen as they start the season. Photo: Candice Ward/Getty Images

There are lots of reasons to look forward to the upcoming Blazers season — Damian Lillard's return to the sidelines, potential new ownership and some intriguing prospects — but they'll be tested early and often.

Why it matters: The Blazers face some of the best teams in the league, some multiple times, within their first 20 games.

Zoom in: They'll tip the season off on Oct. 22 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who lost in the Western Conference Finals last season.

After that, it'll be Golden State, the Clippers and then the Lakers before they face the Utah Jazz in their fifth game, the first team they'll play that had a losing record last year.

Zoom out: In their first 20 games, they'll only play five games against teams that didn't make the playoffs last season.

They'll face the reigning champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, three times in that span.

The bottom line: A brutal opening stretch could leave the Blazers trying to climb out of a hole all season, but we're ready for the team to surprise us.

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Blazers face brutal early-season schedule

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