The 2015-16 NBA schedule is out, and the Thunder's specifically features 41 games at home and 41 games on the road -- for the first time in team history, I think.

In what will be the most important and most high-profile season yet in Oklahoma City, the Thunder kick off in style, hosting the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 28, and then alternate home and away for the opening two weeks, which includes games at Houston, at Chicago and at Washington.

Here's the entire schedule to peruse, but here's what you need to know about it:

Christmas in OKC

The Thunder host on Christmas Day, welcoming the Chicago Bulls to Chesapeake Energy Arena. A not-so-fun-fact: Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose have only played head-to-head six times, with the last meeting being in 2010. Once upon a time, a matchup between Westbrook and Rose would have been center-stage stuff, and with Rose (supposedly) starting to scratch the surface of his former self, maybe a showdown on Christmas will make up for time lost.

Five can't-miss home games

1. Oct. 28, vs. Spurs: A home opener against the titans of the West, who will be debuting their new star in LaMarcus Aldridge, with Kevin Durant returning to the floor while Billy Donovan makes his debut as Thunder coach? Yeah, as far as the first of 82 go, this is pretty great.

2. Nov. 18, vs. Pelicans: Kendrick Perkins returns to Oklahoma City, which, in truth, will be a pretty interesting night for Thunder fans. The team and organization loved the big fella, and while he was a polarizing player for fans, his departure was met with plenty of positivity. Oh, and Anthony Davis versus Kevin Durant. That's a reason to be at this one, too.

3. Feb. 21, vs. Cavaliers: LeBron James versus Kevin Durant. It's pretty simple stuff, you guys.

4. Feb. 27, vs. Warriors: The defending champs' only visit to Oklahoma City happens in late February. The Thunder will have a point to prove in reminding those who are overlooking them that they're still in the class of the conference. Inside the organization last season, the Thunder felt that if healthy, they matched up perfectly against the Warriors.

5. March 9, vs. Clippers: Blake Griffin's return home isn't the catch here, but a great basketball game between two immensely talented and competitive teams is.

Bonus game: Nov. 27, vs. Pistons: Reggie Jackson returns to play against the team he so desperately wanted to leave. The fan reaction will be pretty ease to gauge, but how Thunder players react will be what's most interesting. It's no secret Jackson wasn't very well-liked in the locker room by the time he made his exit. Russell Westbrook is probably looking forward to this one.

2015-16 NBA Schedule Released The NBA schedule is out, featuring a festive Christmas Day lineup and an early matchup between the Mavs and Clippers. Story » Young: NBA schedule highlights » Doolittle: How NBA improved schedule Team-by-team analysis » Complete 2015-16 schedule »

Five intriguing road games

1. Nov. 10, at Wizards: Kevin Durant's only trip to D.C. this season. I don't know if you had heard or not, but apparently, he's from the area.

2. Dec. 17, at Cavaliers: Before LeBron visits OKC in February, the Thunder travel to Ohio to take on the Cavs. Pie in the sky, this is a Finals preview. But here's a "Did you know?": Durant is 0-6 against LeBron in a Cavs uniform.

3. Feb. 6, at Warriors: The last time Durant played at Oracle? He dropped 30 in the first half before badly spraining his ankle. It would be fun to see him pick up where he left off.

4. Jan. 6, at Grizzlies: The Thunder and Grizzlies never play a boring game. It's always close, it's always physical and it's always close. Did I say it's always close? Because it's always close.

5. April 12, at Spurs: Last game of the season -- will either team be playing for anything?

Toughest 10-game stretch

Feb. 19-March 9: Coming out of the All-Star break in a 20-day span, the Thunder play home against the Pacers, Cavs, Warriors and Clippers and hit the road against the Mavs, Pelicans, Kings, Clippers, Warriors and Bucks. They have two back-to-backs in this stretch and might be happy to escape just going 5-5.

Easiest month

November. Of the Thunder's 16 games, 10 are at home. The road games aren't easy by any means -- Houston, Chicago, Washington, Memphis, Minnesota and Atlanta -- but pretty manageable. It could be a blessing, too, because with all the attention that's going to be on the team because of Durant's final season under contract, as well as Billy Donovan's first month in the NBA, getting off to a good start is critical for the Thunder this season.

Can you see me?

The Thunder play 24 national TV games (TNT, ESPN and ABC), trailing only the Warriors (25) and Cavs (25). The Clippers play 24, the Bulls play 23, the Spurs play 21 and the Lakers and Rockets each play 19. The Thunder will be featured twice on ABC's new Saturday-night schedule. The Thunder played 25 times on national TV last season and remain one of the league's prime television darlings.

Back-back-back-back-to-backs

The Thunder play just 16 back-to-backs, which has them on the low end for the league (league average this season is 17.8). The NBA has made a clear effort to trim back-to-backs in the schedule, reducing the number overall significantly while also taking the number of four-in-five-nights to only 28 (down from 69). The Thunder have one set of four-in-five-nights, and that happens the first week in November (Denver, at Houston, Toronto, at Chicago).

Road trippin'

Interesting quirk to the Thunder's schedule: They don't play two consecutive road games until Dec. 1. And they don't play three consecutive road games until Jan. 26. The longest road trip for the Thunder is four games, and they do it three times.

Click here for the Thunder's full schedule.