The stage is set for some of the most important dates of the year in the NBA, including Christmas, Thanksgiving and Opening Day games and the Los Angeles Clippers will start their season at home in Intuit Dome. 

The Clippers will take on the Sacramento Clippers for the season opener, paring two of the most exciting talents from the 2026 NBA Draft in Keaton Wagler and Darius Acuff Jr. against each other to start a season that should be the beginning of a climb toward the top for both the Clippers and the Kings, two franchise that have are trying to jumpstart their futures with promising young talent.

It's the first time the Clippers have opened the season at home since the 2024-25 season, when they hosted the Phoenix Suns for the inaugural game at Intuit Dome, the Clippers' state-of-the-art home stadium in Inglewood, Calif. 

This season will be one of high excitement for the Clippers after an aggressive rebuild process that was started at the trade deadline last season with the trading of Ivica Zubac and James Harden and has been since continued by adding Wagler and securing young talent like Jordan Miller, Kobe Sanders and Yanic Konan Niederhauser. 

Los Angeles may still be a long way away from surefire success, but getting that process started this season with such a wealth of young talent, including Darius Garland who impressed after coming over at the deadline for Los Angeles, gives the Clippers hope for what can be moving forward. 

The Kings are similarly looking to adjust course on their future after finishing tied four the fourth-worst record in the NBA last season at 22-60. They haven't rebuilt their roster as much as the Clippers have to be sure, but adding Acuff Jr., the second-overall pick in the 2026 Draft, alone should generate a lot of excitement for the state of basketball in California's capital. 

Since Steve Ballmer took over as owner of the Clippers in 2014, there has been a clear push to generate excitement for the team. From flashy big name acquisitions like Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Paul George, to a small aesthetic rebrand and the construction of Intuit Dome, Ballmer has made major pushes to get the Clippers on the map.

Now the team has taken a different approach with the most aggressive rebuild attempt made under Ballmer's ownership and while the next few season may be uncertain, there is clearly a dedicated process to build toward something new. 

That process truly begins on Oct. 21 against the Kings.