Bucks 2025-26 Schedule Breakdown

Recently, the Bucks published their official 2025–26 game schedule. Initial thoughts were provided a short time ago offering a quick observation. Each year upon the schedule’s release, it’s valuable to analyze it in greater depth. My chance to provide that deeper analysis was delayed. The complete upcoming schedule can be viewed, however, similar to previous years, let’s explore crucial periods throughout the season, including relevant elements. The following offers a basic timeline of the year:

• Contrasting with the prior years, the regular season will commence against a team other than the Philadelphia 76ers. To clarify, the Bucks will begin their regular season at Fiserv Forum by hosting Khris Middleton and the Wizards on October 22nd.

• Shortly afterward, they will engage in an opening series of three contests against prominent opponents, spanning from games three through five: at Cleveland, followed by home games against the Knicks and Warriors.

• Their initial back-to-back arrangement will occur on November 3rd and 4th in Indiana—featuring Myles Turner’s return—and Toronto on the subsequent evening. A home-road back-to-back set on November 9th and 10th, in addition to a home-home back-to-back later in that week on November 14th and 15th, will culminate in a period in which the Bucks compete in six games across eight days.

• During the period from November 22nd to 29th, they are slated to play five games within seven days, followed by another set of six games in eight days from November 28th to December 6th. The schedule for the NBA Cup games following this period is yet to be determined.

• Beginning on December 21st, the Bucks will undertake a road journey consisting of five games, with Charlotte representing the location furthest from Milwaukee. Their preceding away series will not consist of more than two games and will all take place within the Central or Eastern time zones. Consequently, they might be able to return to Milwaukee for a minimum of one or two nights during the trip, especially with a game scheduled at the United Center.

• Another sequence of five games played within seven days will take place from December 26th to January 2nd. Following this is their initial visit to the West Coast, where they will compete against the Kings, Warriors, Lakers, and Nuggets. Upon returning home briefly to face Minnesota, they will then proceed to San Antonio and Atlanta. As they arrive back home on January 21st, they will be challenged by upcoming games against OKC, Denver, and Dallas after spending a significant part of January away. This presents a difficult sequence of games!

• Fortunately, January will not feature any back-to-back games. They will also benefit from two separate instances of two days off and a three-day break between the aforementioned games against the Spurs and Hawks.

• The commencement of February marks their initial encounter with the Celtics, which represents their sole visit to Beantown. Last season, they faced Boston three times in the initial 22 games, whereas this year, their first encounter will occur in game 48.

• Following a series of three home games in early February that constitute part of a five-in-seven stretch, they will spend a duration in Orlando, engaging with the Magic twice in a three-day span (noteworthy). The latter of these two contests will serve as the beginning of a back-to-back set, leading them to travel to Oklahoma City for the final game before the All-Star break.

• Upon returning from the break, Milwaukee will play in New Orleans, which will be followed by a sequence of seven games against Eastern Conference rivals over the following two weeks into March. The schedule for these games is relatively concentrated, featuring two instances of five-in-seven periods within their first two weeks upon returning home. Notably, all but one of these games will take place at Fiserv, with the sole away game being in Chicago.

• As a matter of fact, the Bucks will have home-court advantage for all but two games between February 22nd and March 12th. Additionally, they will have six games in eight days from March 7th to 15th.

• As anticipated, the last month of the season involves more extensive travel, with nine of their final 16 regular-season games being held outside of Milwaukee.

• Within that period, there is their second Western road journey that includes games in Utah, Phoenix, Los Angeles (against the Clippers this time), and Portland. They will return to Milwaukee for a back-to-back series with the Spurs and Clippers for the second occasion within a week to conclude March.

• April begins intensely in Houston, but becomes more manageable after that with games at home against Boston and Memphis. Nonetheless, there are seven games occurring within just 12 days.

• Milwaukee will conclude its regular season, initially with a road back-to-back against Brooklyn and Detroit, followed by a prompt return home to compete against the Nets for the second time that week before the final game, number 82, in Philadelphia.

Significant Eastern Conference Matchups

The following presents the season series against teams predicted to be leading contenders in the East:

• Cavaliers: in Cleveland on October 26th and November 17th; in Milwaukee on February 25th and March 17th

• Knicks: in New York on November 28th; in Milwaukee on October 28th and February 27th

• Magic: in Orlando on February 9th and 11th; in Milwaukee on March 8th

• Hawks: in Atlanta on January 19 and March 14th; in Milwaukee on March 4th

• Pistons: in Detroit on December 6 and April 8th; in Milwaukee on November 22nd and December 3rd

Considering the injuries sustained by Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum, the matchups against the Pacers and Celtics might not carry the same weight as those previously mentioned. However, they remain significant rivals of the Bucks, particularly with Myles Turner now part of the Milwaukee team. The Bucks will travel to Indianapolis on November 3rd and December 23rd, and subsequently host the Pacers on February 4th and March 15th. In regards to the Celtics, the Bucks are scheduled to compete against them at TD Garden on February 1st but will have the home-court advantage for the remaining two contests on March 2nd and April 3rd.

Teams consistently compete against their divisional rivals four times (twice on their home court and twice on the road) and then engage with the remaining 10 teams in the conference either three or four times. I will highlight the intraconference opponents whom they are scheduled to face four times: this year, that distinction belongs to Charlotte, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington. Therefore, the Bucks will play Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn, Miami, New York, and Orlando three times each. Notably, they might have an additional game against one of those five teams due to the NBA Cup, regardless of it being part of the tournament or encompassing the two regular-season games intended for teams that do not advance to the eight-team field (assuming that outcome). A favorable circumstance is the presence of potential “tanking” teams in the four-game set, along with other teams that underperformed in the previous season and may do so again in 2025–26.

Significant Western Conference Matchups

Based on the star power and previous season records, the following are noteworthy games against teams from the Western Conference:

• Thunder: January 21st home, February 12th away (also preseason on Tuesday, October 14th at home)

• Rockets: November 9th home, April 1st away

• Lakers: November 15th home, January 9th away

• Nuggets: January 13th away, January 23rd home

• Clippers: March 23rd, March 29th home

• Timberwolves: December 21st away, January 13th home

• Warriors: November 1st home, January 7th away

• Mavericks: November 10th away, January 25th home

• Spurs: January 15th away, March 28th home

This implies that there will be an opportunity to watch Steph Curry in Milwaukee on November 1st, Kevin Durant on November 9th, Luka Doncic and LeBron on November 15th, potential 2025 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the current title holders on January 21st, Nikola Jokic on January 23rd, and Victor Wembanyama on March 28th. Furthermore, the Blazers will visit Milwaukee on November 24th, and although Damian Lillard will undoubtedly be absent from the game, it is possible he will be present for the event.

Difficult Stretches

One may recall the Bucks’ unpromising 2-8 start from the previous season, which was recognized ahead of the season as a potentially challenging segment of the schedule. The initial ten games of this year do not appear as problematic, despite containing two back-to-back sets. Certain segments of 2025 presented challenges near the end of March, which were anticipated beforehand; however, the Bucks performed well in the other potentially problematic areas, sustaining a record of at least .500. Notably, the four-game losing streak that occurred from January into February was not foreseen as a potential source of difficulty. Turning attention to the current year, these periods appear to present considerable challenges:

• December 21–26: at Wolves, at Pacers, at Grizzlies, at Bulls (B2B)

• January 7–23: at Warriors, at Lakers, at Nuggets, Wolves, at Spurs, at Hawks, Thunder, Nuggets

• February 9–12: at Magic, at Magic, at Thunder (B2B)

• March 28–April 3: Spurs, Clippers, at Rockets, Celtics

January does seem difficult, but generally, it looks significantly less intimidating compared to last year. This assessment is partly due to the competitive landscape of the Eastern Conference and also because Milwaukee is benefiting from schedule arrangements where many of their challenging matchups are followed by games against teams such as Washington, Brooklyn, and Utah. Interestingly, they are scheduled to face the Cavs and Knicks in consecutive games on two occasions. These pairings may reveal insights.

The NBA Cup (referred to as the In-Season Tournament)

The Bucks’ Group C draw was discussed last month as they seek to maintain their NBA Cup championship. The knockout phase is scheduled from December 9–16 this year, and if they qualify, the quarterfinals would be hosted in home markets on either December 9th or 10th. Following this, the competition progresses to Vegas for the semifinals on December 13th and the final on December 16th. Should the Bucks advance to the knockout round but subsequently lose their quarterfinal game, they would add a regular-season game on either December 11th or 12th. Conversely, if they do not qualify at all, they would be scheduled for two regular-season games, one on December 12th and the other on either the 15th or 16th.

The NBA aims to schedule these regular-season games between conference rivals that are scheduled to play each other only three times during the regular season. However, the way the numbers fall, there will be two interconference games among these, potentially allowing the Bucks to play a Western Conference team three times. Alternatively, they could play an Eastern Conference team five times during the regular season, which could be any of the other four teams in their division—Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington, or Charlotte. The prospect of an extra game against either of the latter two teams would be welcome.

Additional Schedule Details

• For the second consecutive year, the Bucks are not scheduled to play on Christmas Day. Nevertheless, they are slated to compete in Atlanta on Martin Luther King Day (January 19th) at noon CST. Additionally, they are scheduled to host another game against the Wizards on New Year’s Eve, along with a road game against New York on Black Friday.

• Milwaukee will be featured in 18 nationally televised broadcasts, which is actually one more than the previous year. This positions them 13th in the rankings, two spots ahead of the Pistons and three behind the Clippers. (The Warriors, Lakers, Knicks, and Thunder lead all teams with 34 each).

• The count of 18 does not account for NBA TV but incorporates Peacock and Prime Video. Nine of their national games are not being shown on a conventional cable network but are instead exclusive to the streaming platforms.

• Regarding over-the-air broadcasts, the Bucks will be shown on former/new media partner NBC on Tuesdays four times: October 28th (Knicks), January 13th (Nuggets), January 27th (Sixers), and March 17th (Cavs). As with the previous few years, the team may release details of other games that will be simulcast from FanDuel Sports Network on local TV affiliates throughout the state, which generally happens in the latter part of the year.

• This is relevant to Giannis, who always prioritizes his pregame rest: the weekend matinees include November 9th (Rockets), February 1st (Celtics on ESPN), February 22nd (Raptors), March 1st (Bulls), March 14th (Hawks), March 15th (Pacers—a day game back-to-back!), March 28th (Spurs), March 29th (Clippers—another!), and April 5th (Grizzlies).

• Mirroring last year, their longest road trip will consist of five games. Fortunately, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Indianapolis are locations for three of these games. They are also slated for three four-game road trips, one of which does not venture out west.

• The longest homestand, consisting of five games, is scheduled for early March. The previous year featured two four-game homestands, whereas only one such homestand is on the calendar this year, scheduled right before the five-game series that was previously mentioned.

• The Bucks are set to play in 14 back-to-back games, which aligns closely with the average compared to the rest of the league. 12 teams are scheduled for more back-to-back games (either 15 or 16), and six teams have fewer (13). In the prior year, the Bucks had 16.

• Of these back-to-back games, four are exclusively on the road, five have both games at home, and the remaining five include one game away and the other at Fiserv.

• For the 10 back-to-back games that involve travel, below are the distances (flight or bus) the team will need to cover following the first game, organized from longest to shortest: Orlando to Oklahoma City, Milwaukee to Dallas, New York to Milwaukee, Atlanta to Milwaukee, Brooklyn to Detroit, Chicago to Memphis, Indiana to Toronto, Milwaukee to Detroit, and Chicago to Milwaukee. The longest flight (Orlando to OKC) is approximately 2.5 hours; the other journeys generally require less than two hours.

• The Bucks’ preseason schedule: at Miami on October 6, home versus Detroit on October 9, at Chicago on October 12, then back at home versus OKC on October 14—eight days before the regular season tips off.

That is a thorough summary of the Bucks’ schedule for the 2025–26 regular season. Are there any details that stand out to you? Share your thoughts in the comments.