NBA News August 13: Lakers sold, NBA Cup and Westbrook retires

August continues to have no intention of slowing down. In just a few hours, we got the NBA Cup schedule, a new record sale of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Russell Westbrook’s retirement.

And that’s not all, because tonight we’ll also get the full schedule for the 2026-27 NBA Regular Season.

NBA Cup 2026: Knicks-Sixers and Lakers-Warriors right away

If the NBA’s goal was to come out firing, mission accomplished. The league has officially announced the 2026 NBA Cup group-stage schedule, which tips off Friday, Oct. 30, with two games that need no introduction: New York Knicks-Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors.

LeBron James will therefore face the Knicks again just ten days after making his official Philadelphia debut at Madison Square Garden. Two Sixers-Knicks matchups in the first few weeks of the season are a pretty effective way to start fueling a rivalry that promises to be one of the most interesting in the Eastern Conference.

In the West, meanwhile, we’ll get Luka Doncic vs. Stephen Curry: Lakers-Warriors continues to be a matchup the NBA loves to put in the spotlight and, even without LeBron in purple and gold, there is certainly no shortage of star power.

The group stage will continue through Nov. 27 before giving way to the knockout rounds. There will also be an important change in the decisive stage: the 2026 NBA Cup Final will be played Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, while the semifinals on Dec. 8 and 9 will be played at the home arenas of the qualifying teams.

Lakers sold again: this time for $12.5 billion

Speaking of the Lakers, the biggest news of the past few hours might not even have anything to do with the court. Josh Kushner and Bob Iger have reached an agreement to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers for more than $12 billion, a transaction that, once approved by the NBA, will set a new record for the sale of an American professional sports franchise.

Being a Laker means everything to me and I can’t wait to get back on the court and try to bring a championship back to Los Angeles. I’ve gotten used to major changes over the past few years, but I know that whatever happens, the potential of this iconic franchise is limitless. I can’t wait to meet Josh and Bob so we can get to work and build something special together in Los Angeles

Luka Doncic

What makes it even more remarkable is how quickly the team’s value has risen. Just 14 months ago, Mark Walter took control of the Lakers from the Buss family at a valuation of around $10 billion. Now the franchise is changing hands again at an even higher valuation.

Kushner and Iger had also been involved in discussions surrounding a possible NBA expansion to Las Vegas, but ultimately found themselves facing a considerably bigger opportunity: taking control of one of the most famous and valuable franchises in global sports.

Westbrook calls it quits, but he could have continued

After 18 NBA seasons, Russell Westbrook announced his retirement, bringing one of the most unique and statistically impressive careers in recent NBA history to an end. The 2017 MVP, nine-time All-Star and all-time record holder with 209 triple-doubles is walking away at 37 and, apparently, not because he had run out of options.

It has emerged in recent hours that the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards had presented him with offers during this offseason, but Westbrook chose to step away. So there was no desperate search for one final contract: after 18 years in the league, he simply felt it was time to close the book.

That perhaps makes his farewell even more unusual. Westbrook could have tried to add another season to his career, perhaps still chasing the championship that remains the one major accomplishment missing from his résumé, but he chose to say goodbye on his own terms.

The 2026-27 NBA schedule arrives tonight

The NBA day isn’t over yet. Today, Thursday, Aug. 13, at 3:00 p.m. ET, the full 2026-27 Regular Season schedule will be released. In Italy, that will be 9 p.m.

Opening Night, Christmas Day and the NBA Cup have already given us plenty of intriguing dates, but with the full schedule we’ll finally be able to discover all the other major matchups of the season. We already know about LeBron’s return to Los Angeles, while Jaylen Brown in Boston, Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, Trae Young in Atlanta and all the other matchups created by an offseason in which so many superstars changed teams are still to be revealed.

There will also be another particularly interesting aspect from a Dunkest perspective: figuring out which teams have the best and worst schedules, where the back-to-backs are concentrated and which stretches of the season could become decisive for Fantasy Basketball as well.

That’s all for today. NBA News by Dunkest returns tomorrow morning with another recap and all the news you need to know from around the NBA. 🏀