The 2025-26 season schedule is officially out for every NBA team. When the upcoming campaign tips off, the Toronto Raptors will have a unique advantage: they'll be traveling the seventh-least miles during the season of any team in the association.
From the start to the end of the season, the Raptors will travel a total of 37,902 miles (60,997 kilometers). Only the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers will travel less overall miles during the season.
This may seem like a small thing, but it could end up playing a somewhat meaningful role in how the season goes. If Toronto is still in the hunt for a playoff spot in February or March, the players having less travel miles on their bodies compared to their opponents may not be a total game-changer, but it's also not nothing.
Geographical positioning plays a big part in the Raptors ending up with a favorable schedule in this way. With the team being located right across from upstate New York on Lake Ontario, they are extremely close to both Detroit and Cleveland, with Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Washington, Indiana, Chicago and Milwaukee all less than a quick two hour flight away.
The Raptors will travel the seventh-least miles in 2025-26
That makes 10 Eastern Conference opponents that are all just a stone's throw away from Toronto. This is always naturally going to provide an advantage, but how much of an advantage typically depends on how the schedule shakes out. This year, it clearly swung in the Raptors' favor.
Naturally, all the teams that are geographically close to Toronto also ended up in the bottom half for miles traveled for the 2025-26 season. This is probably the only instance where Raptors fans would think of just how much it helps being centrally located among rival teams.
And on the flip side, we can also see just how much of a disadvantage teams like the Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat are. Being located on the outskirts of the United States relative to the rest of the teams in the NBA, these squads are always going to have scheduling troubles, and they'll both be in the top seven for miles traveled next year.
So for optimistic Toronto Raptors fans, this is even more reason to think they could overachieve next season. If Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and the rest of the crew remain healthy, having to travel significantly less than most of their opponents is going to matter at one point or another.