The Brooklyn Nets are suddenly rolling with the cool kids of the NBA.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Wednesday that the Nets will be featured in one of two opening-night games to help tip-off the start of the 2020-21 NBA regular season on Dec. 22.
Brooklyn will face Kevin Durant’s former team — the Golden State Warriors — as an appetizer for the battle of Los Angeles with the defending-champion Lakers meeting the Clippers.
The Nets are expected to provide must-see basketball this winter now that Durant and Kyrie Irving — who signed with the team during the summer of 2019 — are fully healthy. Durant missed the entire 2019-20 season as he recovered from a ruptured Achilles while Irving was limited to just 20 games due to a litany of injuries.
Their debut together will be nationally televised against the Warriors, who will have a healthy Stephen Curry back in the fold but will once again be without Klay Thompson for the entire season.
Injuries decimated Golden State last season — possessing a league-worst 15-50 record — after making five-straight NBA Finals appearances.
On Tuesday, the Nets learned that they will also be playing on Christmas — a benchmark day on the NBA calendar — as they’ll face the Boston Celtics at 5 p.m. ET.
Training camp began on Tuesday for most teams across the league with Durant revealing that he’s feeling good and ready to suit up for the first time as a Net. The Warriors, however, were forced to move their first practice after two players tested positive for COVID-19.
