The Toronto Raptors will start the 2026-27 NBA calendar in familiar fashion, opening the regular season at home — the club's 14th home opener in 15 years — and will face early test cases in the new NBA Cup format after being drawn with the Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets.
Home start, tight early slate
According to league details released this week, the Raptors will open the season at Scotiabank Arena. The early schedule includes a back-to-back against marquee opponents, with Toronto slated to host the New York Knicks on the night immediately following their opener against the Chicago Bulls.
That pattern—starting at home and quickly facing high-profile opponents—has become routine for the franchise: opening at home for a 14th time in 15 campaigns underlines the club’s preference for beginning seasons on familiar hardwood and with a home-crowd advantage.
NBA Cup grouping and implications
Toronto has been grouped in the NBA Cup pool with four Eastern Conference rivals:
- Orlando Magic
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Detroit Pistons
- Brooklyn Nets
The in-season tournament is again being used to add high-stakes early-season games to the schedule. Group play will give the Raptors competitive fixtures against teams with varying trajectories: Orlando and Brooklyn represent skilled perimeter threats, Milwaukee remains a title-calibre opponent on paper, and Detroit offers younger, length-driven challenges.
How Toronto juggles the Cup obligations with regular-season priorities will be a storyline through the autumn: minutes management, rotation decisions and the ability to handle travel will shape the club’s positioning as the season accelerates.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Season opener | At home vs. Chicago Bulls |
| Back-to-back opponent | New York Knicks (home) |
| NBA Cup group | Magic, Bucks, Pistons, Nets |
Weekend ripple: WNBA note for Toronto fans
On the women’s side, Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers poured in all of her 22 points in the second half to lift the Wings to a 94-88 victory over Toronto’s expansion side, the Tempo. The result handed the Tempo their 10th consecutive loss, a sobering metric for the new franchise as it searches for identity and its first stretch of positive results.
That WNBA outcome will be of interest to Raptors followers tracking basketball across the city and country; the Tempo’s early struggles underline how expansion clubs can lag while building rosters and cohesion.
What to watch next
- How the Raptors prioritise and staff NBA Cup matchups against a compact, competitive group.
- Early-season responses to the back-to-back with Chicago and New York; quick turnovers in the schedule can expose depth concerns.
- The Tempo’s adjustments after a 10-game skid in the WNBA and how Toronto’s women’s basketball profile develops alongside the NBA club.
With the full slate now public, Toronto’s basketball calendar invites early optimism and immediate tests. Opening at home for the 14th time in 15 years provides a familiar platform, but the NBA Cup pairing and a stacked early schedule ensure the first weeks will offer a meaningful glimpse into the Raptors’ readiness for a long season.
