5 must-watch Nets games on 2026-27 schedule

For the second straight year, the Nets open their season against the Charlotte Hornets, only this time at home. Amazingly, the Nets are 1-12 in their last 13 season openers. Their last win to open a season was Kevin Durant’s Nets debut on Dec. 22, 2020, a 125-99 blowout over the Golden State Warriors in an empty Barclays Center due to COVID-19.

This year’s opener will also feature a much-anticipated debut, with No. 6 pick Mikel Brown Jr. beginning his NBA career. Brown represents the team’s highest draft pick of the Brooklyn era. Julius Randle will also rep the black-and-white for the first time following his surprise trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Expect fans to pack Barclays Center as Brown, Randle and Egor Demin attempt to kick off the 2026-27 campaign on a high note.

Mon, Nov. 2 at Knicks

This game will mark the first of four matchups between the Nets and Knicks. It will also mark Brooklyn’s first trip to Madison Square Garden following New York’s championship win.

Randle will return to MSG as a member of the Nets, a sight few would have anticipated when he was starring for the Knicks. The 6-foot-9 forward helped elevate the Knicks from the NBA’s basement to a playoff team during his five-year tenure. He’ll now face a similar task with the rebuilding Nets as the team’s most accomplished player.

The Nets will be on the second night of a back-to-back for this matchup, as they’ll be for three of their four meetings with the Knicks this season. Brooklyn has an NBA-high 16 back-to-backs on its schedule.

Mon, Nov. 16 vs. 76ers

LeBron James, Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers come to Brooklyn for the first time. How does the Barclays Center crowd, which projects to have plenty of 76ers fans, respond to the new-look Philly squad? Can the young Nets hang with the star-studded 76ers?

Wed, Nov. 18 vs. Bulls

Nic Claxton makes his return to Barclays Center after his seven-year tenure came to a close this summer. The Nets dumped Claxton to the Bulls as part of the Randle trade. That opened the door for his longtime backup, Day’Ron Sharpe, to replace him as Brooklyn’s starting center.

Sharpe outplayed Claxton during the last two seasons. Nets fans will be intrigued to see how the two perform against one another during Claxton’s first matchup against his former team.

Mon, Nov. 23 at Timberwolves

Randle makes his return to Minnesota after the Timberwolves salary-dumped him to the Nets this offseason. The Timberwolves notably shopped Randle in trade talks for Giannis Antetokounmpo midway through last season. That development preceded a drop-off in the forward’s production during the second half of the regular season and the playoffs.

Randle will have an opportunity for revenge in front of a national audience when Brooklyn takes the floor at Target Center. The game will be nationally broadcast on NBC and Peacock. It marks one of two nationally televised games for the Nets this season.