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LeBron James has moved back to the Eastern Conference, but the Lakers remain a major box office draw for the NBA.

With an almost brand new rotation after a busy offseason that elevated Luka Doncic to the team’s unquestioned leader, the Lakers have the maximum amount of nationally televised games in the NBA this season with 34, according to the league schedule released Thursday. The Lakers open the season against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21 on ESPN.

The slate is highlighted by a much-anticipated Christmas Day reunion with James that will be televised at 2 p.m. on ABC. The matchup at Crypto.com Arena will be James’ return to L.A. after the four-time NBA champion signed with the Philadelphia 76ers this summer following eight seasons with the Lakers. James will play on Christmas Day for the 21st time in his 24-season career, and the Lakers will play on the holiday for the 28th consecutive time.

The Lakers don’t meet James in his new home until March 4, when they finish a four-game trip in Philadelphia.

The Lakers have a frantic start to the season, playing 13 games in the first four weeks. They have three back-to-back sets during the busy stretch from the opener to the end of a three-game trip in Milwaukee on Nov. 11.

The Lakers have 14 sets of back-to-backs, the same as last season, and eight of the sets require travel between the games. Two require time changes: The Lakers play at Minnesota on Dec. 18 before gaining an hour while traveling to Denver to play Dec. 19, then lose an hour between Chicago on Jan. 2 and Toronto on Jan. 3.

The traditional Grammys trip begins in Indiana on Jan. 28 followed by a back-to-back set in New York (Jan. 30) and Charlotte (Jan. 31). The Lakers then continue the seven-game trip by circling back north from Charlotte to Boston (Feb. 2) and Brooklyn (Jan. 4), then heading West with stops in San Antonio (Feb. 6) and Phoenix (Feb. 8).

The reigning NBA champion New York Knicks, Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and James’ 76ers each have 34 nationally televised games. The national broadcast appearances are spread throughout the NBA’s broadcast partners: ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime.

The final two games of the 82-game season will be determined in December as the NBA Cup midseason tournament plays out.

The Lakers were placed into Group C, which includes the Warriors, Spurs, Portland Trailblazers and Sacramento Kings. The group stage begins at Golden State on Oct. 30 followed by home games against Portland (Nov. 6) and Sacramento (Nov. 20). The final group game is Nov. 27 at San Antonio.

LAKERS’ 2026-27 SCHEDULE

October
21: vs. Golden State, 7 p.m.
23: vs. Clippers, 7 p.m.
25: at Utah, 2 p.m.
27: vs. Portland, 8 p.m.
28: at Clippers, 7:30 p.m.
30: at Golden State, 7 p.m.

November
1: vs. Toronto, 6 p.m.
2: vs. Miami, 7 p.m.
4: at Sacramento, 7 p.m.
6: vs. Portland, 7 p.m.
8: at Detroit, 3 p.m.
9: at Atlanta, 4 p.m.
11: at Milwaukee, 5 p.m.
15: at Phoenix, 1 p.m.
17: vs. Charlotte, 7 p.m.
18: vs. Utah, 7 p.m.
20: vs. Sacramento, 7 p.m.
23: vs. Utah, 7 p.m.
27: at San Antonio, 6:30 p.m.
29: at Memphis, 1 p.m.
30: at Houston, 4:30 p.m.

December
2: at New Orleans, 5 p.m.
14: vs. New Orleans, 7 p.m.
16: at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m.
18: at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
19: at Denver, 6 p.m.
21: vs. Indiana, 7 p.m.
23: vs. Denver, 7 p.m.
25: vs. Philadelphia, 2 p.m.
27: vs. Memphis, 6 p.m.
29: vs. Houston, 7 p.m.
31: at New Orleans, 5 p.m.

January
2: at Chicago, 5 p.m.
3: at Toronto, 4 p.m.
5: at Washington, 4 p.m.
7: vs. Boston, 7 p.m.
8: vs. Detroit, 7 p.m.
11: at Clippers, 7 p.m.
13: at Portland, 7 p.m.
14: vs. Orlando, 7 p.m.
17: vs. Milwaukee, 6 p.m.
19: at Sacramento, 7 p.m.
21: at Golden State, 7 p.m.
22: vs. Sacramento, 7 p.m.
24: vs. Washington, 1 p.m.
26: vs Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
28: at Indiana, 4 p.m.
30: at New York, 5:30 p.m.
31: at Charlotte, 4 p.m.

February
2: at Boston, 5 p.m.
4: at Brooklyn, 4 p.m.
6: at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m.
8: at Phoenix, 6:30 p.m.
10: vs. Clippers, 7 p.m.
12: vs. Denver, 7 p.m.
16: vs. Chicago, 7 p.m.
18: vs. Houston, 7 p.m.
26: at Denver, 7 p.m.
28: at Dallas, 12:30 p.m.

March
2: at Orlando, 4 p.m.
4: at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
6: vs. Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m.
7: vs. Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
11: vs. New York, 7 p.m.
12 vs. Cleveland, 7 p.m.
14: vs. Golden State, 7 p.m.
16: at Portland, 7 p.m.
17: vs. Phoenix, 7 p.m.
19: vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m.
21: vs. Dallas, 7 p.m.
23: at Miami, 5 p.m.
25: at Cleveland, 4 p.m.
28: at Houston, noon
30: at Memphis, 5 p.m.

April
1: at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m.
4: vs. San Antonio, 7 p.m.
6: vs. Dallas, 7 p.m.
7: vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m.
9: vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m.
11: vs. Phoenix, 5:30 p.m.

All times Pacific

“Today” show host Savannah Guthrie said Saturday on social media that her family was “desperate” and “begging for help” in the disappearance of her mother, a day after authorities released two ransom notes including one saying that she had died.

Authorities released an early note in the investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, hoping that someone will recognize the writing style. A second note said Guthrie died shortly after she was kidnapped and “is buried in nature now.” Both notes initially were sent to a Tucson television station days after Guthrie went missing from her home outside Tucson on Feb. 1.

Desperate plea

“We are begging for help. We are desperate. We need someone to come forward. Someone knows something. Someone suspects something. Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes,” Guthrie wrote on her Instagram account, alongside a photo of her mother.

“Someone has noticed something different, strange, troubling or just unusual — perhaps with someone they deeply love,” she wrote. “Perhaps they are afraid to come forward. Perhaps they are conflicted. Perhaps they are angry or upset for being in this situation. There is a way out — to tell what you know.”

Guthrie went on to say she and her family “wanted to find out what happened to her, so that we can give her the dignity of a proper goodbye — a celebration of her remarkable life that she so deserves.”

Missing since February

Saturday is the six-month mark since Guthrie disappeared. No suspects have been arrested. The investigation has been dogged by unanswered questions, such as how many people are believed to have taken part in her abduction and whether she was taken by someone who knew her.

The FBI in Washington did not respond to questions about the ransom notes, including whether both messages sent to the Tucson station have been deemed legitimate.

In releasing the notes, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said that “we believe these distinctive linguistic characteristics may be recognizable to someone who knows or has interacted with the notes’ writer.”

Ransom notes released

The first note, sent Feb. 2, said Guthrie was safe but scared and would be released unharmed once her captors received $4 million in cryptocurrency, with the ransom amount increasing if the first demand was not met. It said Guthrie would be released within 12 hours if the payment was received. It also included a threat to kill her if the ransom wasn’t paid.

“Your mother is aware of this and her life is in your hands,” the first note read. “It is in the best interest of everyone to have this completed as soon as possible.”

The second note was sent Feb. 6 and said Guthrie died shortly after she was taken. “She is buried in nature now,” it said. “Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome.” The note ended with an apology: “We are truly sorry.”

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said the notes reveal a distinctive pattern of word choices and provide insight into the writer’s mindset. The agency said someone who knows the notes’ writer may recognize the patterns.

Authorities similarly used a suspect’s writings as a tool to find Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, branded the “Unabomber” by the FBI. Kaczynski, who killed three people and injured 23 others with mail bombs over a 17-year span, pressured the Washington Post, in conjunction with the New York Times, to publish his 35,000-word manifesto in 1995. He was finally arrested after his brother realized his sibling was the suspect and notified authorities.

Signs of preparations

The sheriff’s office also said Friday that two videos recovered from Guthrie’s doorbell camera might be from two separate days and indicate an unidentified male prepared ahead of when Guthrie was taken. Authorities are seeking information on anyone who was behaving differently, changed their physical appearance, suddenly left the Tucson area or had a noticeable or unexplained interest or disinterest in the case.

“Investigators continue to pursue every available technological and investigative lead,” the sheriff’s office said. “However, community members remain a vital resource as we seek to provide answers for Nancy’s family.”

The FBI had released surveillance videos of a masked person who authorities said appeared to tamper with a camera on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch and block it with a plant. They described the person as a male about 5 feet, 9 inches tall.

Casey writes for the Associated Press.

Continuing my summer observations looking back at memorable moments in covering high school sports since 1976, you can’t find a better, more beloved action-packed night than Feb. 24, 2017, at USC’s Galen Center when you got to see two great high school basketball games for the price of one in the Southern Section Open Division semifinals.

Anyone who was there remembers the long lines to get in, the sold-out crowd and drama involving Sierra Canyon against Bishop Montgomery and Mater Dei against Chino Hills.

Enjoy the memories from the video looking back.