It feels like an eternity has passed since the New York Knicks' final game of the 2023-24 season. Maybe that's because so much has happened since then, like the Mikal Bridges trade and OG Anunoby's five-year contract.
Now that August is here, media day will happen at the end of next month. After that, training camp will open. For the second straight year, the Knicks will travel to The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. Once that ends, the preseason will begin.
As excited as fans are for the above events, the real excitement will kick in when New York plays its first regular-season game. In 2023-24, the Knicks opened the season against the Celtics at MSG. The year before that, they traveled to Memphis to play the Grizzlies.
In a matter of weeks, NBA teams will release their 2024-25 schedules. If fans got to choose, here's who they'd want New York to play against.
3 opponents the Knicks could open the 2024-25 season against
Indiana Pacers
The Knicks played their last game of the 2023-24 season against the Pacers, so it wouldn't be surprising if the NBA wanted to send Indiana back to MSG for the first game of the 2024-25 season. It'd be a (hopefully) healthy second-round rematch against two teams that should finish at the top of the conference standings.
The Pacers haven't had a quiet offseason, but they've been overlooked because they didn't make a major splash. Pascal Siakam signed a four-year max contract, and Obi Toppin and Andrew Nembhard also signed new deals. Indiana won 47 games last season and could improve on that next season.
Knicks fans (and players) would love the opportunity to beat the Pacers in the first game of the season. It wouldn't change how last season ended, but it'd still be satisfying.
As fun as it'd be to see Tyrese Haliburton walk off the floor with a loss, there are two other teams that fans would like to see New York open up the season against more.