Now that the Clippers have a home to call their own, they will no longer have to cover the championship banners featuring the other home team.
When the Clippers play their first NBA regular-season game at the Intuit Dome against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 23, the walls inside Steve Ballmer’s $2-billion palace will be adorned with the faces of Kawhi Leonard and James Harden and Ivica Zubac and Terance Mann and the rest of the crew.
When the Clippers host the Lakers and LeBron James and Anthony Davis on Jan. 19 and Feb. 4, it will be in Inglewood and not at Crypto.com Arena, a venue they shared with the Lakers and Kings for 25 seasons.
The Clippers, who had their entire schedule released on Thursday along with the rest of the NBA, will return to their old digs to face the Lakers on the road on Feb. 28 and March 2.
On Nov. 6, the Clippers will host Paul George for the first time in Inglewood. George spent five seasons with the Clippers, but the All-Star wingman left them and joined the Philadelphia 76ers on a four-year, $212-million deal.
The Clippers will be in the West “A” Group in the NBA’s Emirates Cup. They will play their first group game on Nov. 15 at Houston, their second game at home on No. 22 against Sacramento, their third game on Nov. 29 at Minnesota and their fourth game at home on Dec. 3 against Portland.
The Clippers will play 16 back-to-back games this season and their longest trips of the season span four games.
Having their own arena also means that the Clippers will not play any 12:30 p.m. Saturday or Sunday games at home this season, their typical timeslot at Crypto.com Arena to accommodate the Lakers and Kings.
All of the Clippers’ games on Saturday at Intuit Dome will be at 7:30 p.m, and they only have seven games on that day. Even the Clippers’ games on Sunday will start no earlier than 6 p.m.
Clippers schedule
October
23: vs. Phoenix, 7; 26: at Denver, 2; 27: at Golden State, 5:30; 30: vs. Portland, 7:30; 31: vs. Phoenix, 7:30.
November
2: vs. Oklahoma City, 7:30; 4: vs. San Antonio, 7:30; 6: vs. Philadelphia, 7; 8: at Sacramento, 7; 9: vs. Toronto, 7:30; 11: at Oklahoma City, 5; 13: at Houston, 5; 15: at Houston, 5; 17: vs. Utah, 6; 18: vs. Golden State, 7:30; 20: vs. Orlando, 7:30; 22: vs. Sacramento, 7:30; 24: at Philadelphia, 3; 25: at Boston, 4:30; 27: at Washington, 4; 29: at Minnesota, 4:30.
December
1: vs. Denver, 7; 3: vs. Portland, 7:30; 4: vs. Minnesota, 7:30; 8: vs. Houston, 6; 19: at Dallas, 5:30; 21: at Dallas, 5:30; 23: at Memphis, 5; 27: vs. Golden State, 7; 30: at New Orleans, 5; 31: at San Antonio, 4.
January
2: at Oklahoma City, 5; 4: vs. Atlanta, 7:30; 6: at Minnesota, 5; 8: at Denver, 6; 11: vs. Charlotte, 7:30; 13: vs. Miami, 7:30; 15: vs. Brooklyn, 7:30; 16: at Portland, 7; 19: vs. Lakers, 6; 21: vs. Chicago, 7:30; 22: vs. Boston, 7:30; 25: vs. Milwaukee, 7:30; 27: at Phoenix, 6:30; 29: at San Antonio, 5; 31: at Charlotte, 4.
February
2: at Toronto, 12:30; 4: vs. Lakers, 7; 6: vs. Indiana, 7:30; 8: vs. Utah, 7:30; 12: vs. Memphis, 7:30; 20: at Milwaukee, 5; 23: at Indiana, 2; 24: at Detroit, 4; 26: at Chicago, 5; 28: at Lakers, 7.
March
2: at Lakers, 6:30; 4: at Phoenix, 7; 5: vs. Detroit, 7:30; 7: vs. New York, 7:30; 9: vs. Sacramento, 6:30; 11: at New Orleans, 6:30; 12: at Miami, 5; 14: at Atlanta, 4:30; 16: vs. Washington, 7; 18: vs. Cleveland, 7:30; 19: at Utah, 6; 21: vs. Memphis, 7:30; 23: vs. Oklahoma City, 6; 26: at New York, 4:30; 28: at Brooklyn, 4:30; 30: at Cleveland, 12:30; 31: at Orlando, 4.
April
2: vs. New Orleans, 7; 4: vs. Dallas, 7:30; 5: vs. Dallas, 7:30; 8: vs. San Antonio, 7:30; 9: vs. Houston, 7:30; 11: at Sacramento, 7; 13: at Golden State, 12:30.
All times are Pacific