Scheduled
Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons
2026-27 · Regular season
Wednesday’s 11 NBA home openers: free Grizzlies tickets, a Clippers jersey swap, towels, hats and halftime shows
Eleven teams open at home on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Here is every giveaway, halftime act and doors time, from 750 free Grizzlies tickets today to the Clippers jersey swap, Wizards and Rockets towels, a Raptors shirt and a Pelicans 25th-season hat.
In this article
Oct. 20, 2026 — Eleven NBA teams play their first home game on Wednesday, Oct. 21, the busiest home-opener night of the week. The freebies have already started: three Grizzlies players are handing out 750 free tickets in Memphis this afternoon. The Clippers will swap old jerseys for new ones on the Intuit Dome plaza, and Washington, Houston and Memphis all have towels waiting at the doors. Toronto and New Orleans are giving out a shirt and a hat, and Waka Flocka Flame, Tag Team and Red Panda are booked for halftime.
Tuesday’s three openers in Detroit, New York and San Antonio are covered in our opening-night tip times guide and the Knicks ring night guide. This page is about Wednesday. All 11 games tip between 7 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Eastern. In Cairo that is 2 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Wednesday’s 11 home openers at a glance
Tip and door times come from each team’s or arena’s game page. Tips were checked against the league schedule. “Not announced” means the team has not named a giveaway for that game.
| Game | Arena | Tip (local) | Tip (Cairo, Thu) | Doors (local) | What fans get |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawks at Magic | Kia Center, Orlando | 7 p.m. ET | 2:00 a.m. | 6 p.m. | Opening Night presented by AdventHealth; giveaway not announced |
| Bucks at Wizards | Capital One Arena, Washington | 7 p.m. ET | 2:00 a.m. | 5:30 p.m. | Rally towel, first 15,000; Waka Flocka Flame at halftime |
| Timberwolves at Heat | Kaseya Center, Miami | 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) | 2:30 a.m. | 6 p.m. | Full-arena giveaway presented by Ticketmaster (item not named) |
| Hornets at Nets | Barclays Center, Brooklyn | 7:30 p.m. ET | 2:30 a.m. | 6 p.m. | Not announced |
| Bulls at Raptors | Scotiabank Arena, Toronto | 7:30 p.m. ET | 2:30 a.m. | — | White We The North home-opener T-shirt for every fan |
| Jazz at Grizzlies | FedExForum, Memphis | 7 p.m. CT | 3:00 a.m. | — | Growl Towel, first 10,000; Plaza Party 5–7 p.m. |
| Pacers at Pelicans | Smoothie King Center, New Orleans | 7 p.m. CT | 3:00 a.m. | — | 25th-season hat, first 6,000; Red Panda at halftime; $6 menu items |
| Mavericks at Rockets | Toyota Center, Houston | 7:30 p.m. CT | 3:30 a.m. | 6 p.m. | Ketchup-and-mustard rally towel for all fans; Tag Team at halftime |
| Warriors at Lakers | Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles | 7 p.m. PT (ESPN) | 5:00 a.m. | 5:30 p.m. | Not announced |
| Suns at Trail Blazers | Moda Center, Portland | 7 p.m. PT | 5:00 a.m. | 5:45 p.m. | Not announced |
| Kings at Clippers | Intuit Dome, Inglewood | 7:30 p.m. PT | 5:30 a.m. | 6 p.m. | Jersey swap 4–7 p.m. on the plaza, first 4,000 |
Memphis: 750 free tickets today
Cedric Coward, Jaylen Wells and Isaiah Stewart are giving away 750 tickets to Wednesday’s opener against Utah. That is 375 pairs. The giveaway starts today, Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 1:30 p.m. CT (9:30 p.m. in Cairo) in the FedExForum Grand Lobby. The team says it is first come, first served, with a limit of two tickets per adult. The Grizzlies Den team store is open during the giveaway.
If you miss the giveaway, tickets for Wednesday start at $22, and the team says limited seats remain in the Plaza and Pinnacle levels. Today is also the Grizzlies’ School Spirit Day. Students who wear Grizzlies gear to school and post photos tagging the team’s community account can win their school 100 tickets to Opening Night.
On game night, the Opening Night Plaza Party runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at Big River Steel Plaza outside FedExForum, with DJ Zetta, a basketball hoop trailer and face painters. Inside, the first 10,000 fans get a Big Memphis Nights Growl Towel. Opening Night is presented by Pinnacle Financial Partners, and the rest of the season is in our Grizzlies promotions calendar.
Clippers: trade in an old jersey for a new one
After an offseason in which Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac all left, the Clippers are letting fans swap their old jerseys before the home opener against Sacramento. The swap runs from 4 to 7 p.m. PT on the plaza at Intuit Dome. It is limited to the first 4,000 fans who have a valid Home Opener ticket and an eligible jersey, one swap per person.
Bring a Swingman or Authentic jersey, either a Clippers jersey of any player from any year or another team’s jersey of a current Clipper. In return you get an adult Clippers Icon Navy Swingman jersey of a current player, in sizes small through 2XL. Giveaway jerseys are not accepted, no youth sizes are handed out, and you can’t choose a Statement, Association or custom jersey. Garages open at 3:30 p.m. and doors at 6 p.m. The opener also has the Jr. Clippers Skills & Drills ticket pack, one of the special packs in our Intuit Dome ticket guide.
Towels in Washington and Houston, plus two halftime acts
Wizards Wednesdays, a seven-night series presented by Capital One, starts with the opener against Milwaukee. The first 15,000 fans get a Wizards rally towel. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and Waka Flocka Flame performs at halftime. DJ Akademiks joins Britt Waters as an in-arena host this season, and Capital One cardholders get 20% off at the Team Store and arena merchandise kiosks. The rest of the Wizards giveaways, including the “Ice” Trae Young bobblehead on Nov. 16, are in our Wizards promotions guide.
In Houston, Opening Night presented by Toyota is also the debut of the Rockets’ new uniforms. Every fan gets a ketchup-and-mustard rally towel, and Tag Team plays at halftime. Doors open at 6 p.m. CT for the 7:30 tip against Dallas. Red Rush 90 runs at every home game, starting with this one: from doors until tip, fans wearing Rockets gear get half off selected beers, Pepsi products, hot dogs, popcorn and pretzels.
A shirt in Toronto, a hat in New Orleans
Kawhi Leonard plays his first regular-season game for the Raptors since the 2019 title run when Chicago visits Scotiabank Arena. The opener is presented by Tangerine, and every fan gets an exclusive white We The North home-opener T-shirt. The rest of the season, including Kyle Lowry week, is in our Raptors theme nights guide.
The Pelicans open their 25th season in New Orleans against Indiana. The first 6,000 fans get a commemorative 25th-season hat from Smoothie King, and Red Panda does her unicycle bowl-flipping act at halftime. DJ Hollaback, balloon artists, dunk stations and pop-a-shot games are spread across the concourses. A few value items cost $6, including a pretzel, a hot dog combo and a small nacho combo, and a small popcorn is $4. The other 14 giveaway nights are in our Pelicans promotional calendar.
Miami, Los Angeles and the other openers
Kaseya Center lists a full-arena giveaway presented by Ticketmaster for the Heat’s opener against Minnesota but has not named the item. Doors open at 6 p.m. The Heat have also said their Vice City activities begin on Opening Night, ahead of A Night in Vice City against the Bucks on Nov. 18.
Lakers-Warriors is the late national game on ESPN. Stephen Curry practiced fully on Monday and is set to play. Crypto.com Arena opens its doors at 5:30 p.m. PT, and the Lakers have not announced a giveaway for the game. Their first big promotional night is the Luka Dončić Scoring Champion bobblehead on Nov. 1 against Toronto. In Orlando, Brooklyn and Portland, the openers have no announced giveaway either. Kia Center opens 60 minutes before tip, Barclays Center 90 minutes before, and the Moda Center at 5:45 p.m. PT, with Dr. Jack’s opening at 4 p.m.
Later this week
Philadelphia opens at home on Thursday, Oct. 22, against Cleveland at 7 p.m. ET. It is the first of the Sixers’ Goldfish Blimp games, when a blimp drops Goldfish snacks and coupons over the seats before the game and at halftime. Oklahoma City hosts Denver later that night at 9:30 p.m. ET. Milwaukee’s opener against Chicago on Friday, Oct. 23, has moved to 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET) because of the Brewers’ World Series game that night, and the first 10,000 fans get a 2026-27 schedule poster. Atlanta opens on Saturday, Oct. 24, against Houston at 8:30 p.m. ET, and every fan gets a black Hawks T-shirt.
Giveaways are handed out at the doors while supplies last, and teams can change promotions without notice. Check the team or arena game page before you go.
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