Lakers announce 2017 preseason schedule

The Los Angeles Lakers officially revealed their preseason schedule Thursday, announcing that they will six exhibition games in venues including Los Angeles, Anaheim, Ontario and Las Vegas.

Missing from that slate is San Diego, where the Lakers notably have had issues in the past, including having to end a game early in 2015 when the floor became too slippery to safely play on.

The Lakers’ six games are also down from the eight they played a year ago, a change that makes sense given the NBA’s ongoing efforts to increase player rest and reduce wear and tear, especially in meaningless exhibition contests.

The Lakers will tip off the preseason in a fun match-up between their young core and that of the Minnesota Timberwolves and finish with a home date against their cross-hall rivals and STAPLES Center co-tenants, the LA Clippers.

You can take a look at the full schedule here, courtesy of the Lakers:

The Lakers also announced when fans can buy tickets to at least some of the contests:

Individual game tickets for the games in Anaheim, Ontario, and Las Vegas will go on sale at 10:00am PT on Monday, June 12. Tickets for the preseason games at STAPLES Center will go on sale at a later date.

The Lakers still have to make it through the 2017 NBA Draft and Las Vegas Summer League, but their return to (kind of) real basketball is drawing ever-closer.

Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.