The Orlando Magic are a team on the rise in the NBA's Eastern Conference – but will a grueling travel schedule be their downfall this season?
The Magic own the dubious distinction of being the most traveled team in the league in 2025-26, racking up an absurd 54,279 miles thanks in no small part to their participation in a pair of regular-season international games.
We examine the entire 2025-26 NBA calendar and break down which teams have the roughest travel itineraries – and which reigning NBA finalist has it the easiest.
Key Takeaways
- The Orlando Magic not only have the most overall miles, they'll also endure the longest average road trip at 919 miles
- The Portland Trail Blazers lead all Western Conference teams in travel wear for 2025-26, coming in at 50,506 total miles
- Only two Eastern Conference teams – both based in Florida – are ranked inside the top-15 in most miles traveled
- The team they vanquished, the Indiana Pacers, will do the least amount of traveling of any NBA team next season
2025-26 NBA Most Travelled Teams
| Rank | Team | Total Miles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Orlando Magic* |
54,279 |
| 2 |  Portland Trail Blazers |
50,506 |
| 3 |  Memphis Grizzlies* |
50,464 |
| 4 |  Miami Heat |
46,997 |
| 5 |  Golden State Warriors |
46,849 |
| 6 |  Los Angeles Clippers |
46,572 |
| 7 |  Phoenix Suns |
46,551 |
| 8 |  San Antonio Spurs |
46,394 |
| 9 |  Dallas Mavericks** |
45,846 |
| 10 |  Houston Rockets |
45,431 |
| 11 |  Minnesota Timberwolves |
45,403 |
| 12 |  Denver Nuggets |
45,243 |
| 13 |  Utah Jazz |
45,195 |
| 14 |  New Orleans Pelicans |
44,830 |
| 15 |  Los Angeles Lakers |
44,387 |
| 16 |  Boston Celtics |
44,042 |
| 17 |  Detroit Pistons** |
42,785 |
| 18 |  Oklahoma City Thunder |
42,172 |
| 19 |  Sacramento Kings |
41,844 |
| 20 |  Brooklyn Nets |
41,125 |
| 21 |  Atlanta Hawks |
40,114 |
| 22 |  Washington Wizards |
39,954 |
| 23 |  New York Knicks |
39,755 |
| 24 |  Toronto Raptors |
37,870 |
| 25 |  Milwaukee Bucks |
37,475 |
| 26 |  Cleveland Cavaliers |
37,464 |
| 27 |  Chicago Bulls |
37,436 |
| 28 |  Charlotte Hornets |
36,442 |
| 29 |  Philadelphia 76ers |
36,347 |
| 30 |  Indiana Pacers |
35,278 |
*Playing in Berlin and London
** Playing in Mexico City
2025-26 NBA Most Travelled Teams
1. Orlando Magic
✈️ Total miles traveled: 54,279
📏 Average trip: 919 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 38
It might seem strange to see an Eastern Conference team atop this list – but that's what happens when you're connected to not one, but two international games. The Magic will face the Memphis Grizzlies in a pair of European neutral-site games – and you have to wonder if those outings will have an adverse impact on the team's season.
2. Portland Trail Blazers
✈️ Total miles traveled: 50,506
📏 Average trip: 918 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 48
Western Conferences have it typically much tougher than their East Coast brethren, and no Pacific team has it worse in 2025-26 than the Trail Blazers. Their worst stretch of the season stretches over nearly a month of action (Feb. 11-March 6), during which they'll play eight of 10 games on the road while switching time zones six times.
3. Memphis Grizzlies
✈️ Total miles traveled: 50,464
📏 Average trip: 870 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 50
The Magic's European travel partner – and third and final member of the 50,000-miles club – doesn't quite have it as tough as the teams ahead of it on the list, but that's a small consolation. Memphis will endure a league-high 50 time-zone switches, highlighted by a stretch of nine-or-11 road games between Nov. 11 and Dec. 2.
4. Miami Heat
✈️ Total miles traveled: 46,997
📏 Average trip: 839 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 30
How about those Florida-based teams? The weather is great, and the lack of state income tax puts more money in players' pockets, but the travel schedules are brutal. Miami is the only other Eastern Conference team in the top-15 on this list – and its only saving grace for 2025-26 is not having to make the trek overseas like their Orlando rivals.
5. Golden State Warriors
✈️ Total miles traveled: 46,849
📏 Average trip: 884 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 46
Those old bones in San Francisco are getting creakier by the year – and Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr certainly won't benefit from the travel schedule in that regard. The Warriors have it rough in 2025-26, capped by a run of 10 road contests in a 12-game span from Oct. 30-Nov. 19.
6. Los Angeles Clippers
✈️ Total miles traveled: 46,572
📏 Average trip: 879 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 46
Speaking of those who are now considered elderly in NBA years, the oldest roster in the NBA hasn't been given any favors by the league here. A month-long gauntlet from Nov. 14-Dec. 17 might just be the worst of any team in the league: The Clippers play 12 of 14 games away from Intuit Dome, with five time zone changes over that span.
7. Phoenix Suns
✈️ Total miles traveled: 46,551
📏 Average trip: 831 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 50
No NBA roster will be resetting its Rolexes more often than the Suns, who will encounter an incredible 50 time zone changes in 2025-26. Those 46,551 travel miles are no small burden, either – particularly for a Suns team expected to finish near the bottom of the Western Conference standings following the trade of Kevin Durant to Houston.
8. San Antonio Spurs
✈️ Total miles traveled: 46,394
📏 Average trip: 800 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 36
The Spurs need superstar Victor Wembanyama back to full health for 2025-26 – especially when you consider how daunting their travel schedule is shaping up to be. It gets especially challenging in the month leading up to Christmas, when San Antonio plays 10 of 13 on the road with zero consecutive home games in that stretch.
9. Dallas Mavericks
✈️ Total miles traveled: 45,846
📏 Average trip: 804 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 38
Welcome to the NBA, Cooper Flagg! I hope you have a really comfortable airplane pillow. Flagg and the Mavericks will travel more than 800 miles per road trip in 2025-26, a stark departure from what the No. 1 pick was accustomed to at Duke. It's particularly grueling from Nov. 24 to Jan. 10, when Dallas plays 13 of 19 on the road.
10. Houston Rockets
✈️ Total miles traveled: 45,431
📏 Average trip: 811 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 34
Durant's new team has plenty of young firepower on the roster – and that might very well come in handy when it comes to navigating this travel sked. The Rockets don't have nearly the same time zone issues as teams further up on the list, but there will still plenty of miles on the odometer. How will Durant – who turns 37 in September – manage them?
2025-26 NBA Least Travelled Teams
30. Indiana Pacers
✈️ Total miles traveled: 35,278
📏 Average trip: 630 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 32
A Game 7 NBA Finals loss and devastating long-term injury to their cornerstone point guard made the end of last season positively wretched for the Pacers and their fans. And while nothing will erase those painful memories, it has to be heartening to see Indiana enter 2025-26 with the fewest projected miles traveled of any NBA team.
29. Philadelphia 76ers
✈️ Total miles traveled: 36,347
📏 Average trip: 627 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 24
Few teams face as many legitimate question marks entering the season as the 76ers – but you cannot make their schedule a contributing factor to any future struggles. The 76ers will leave the Eastern time zone just 24 times this season, fewer than any team in the league. Now, if only Philly's core players can stay healthy ...
28. Charlotte Hornets
✈️ Total miles traveled: 36,442
📏 Average trip: 618 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 26
Something has to go Charlotte's way this season, right? After years of futility and humiliation in basketball hotbed North Carolina, the Hornets might finally see some positive movement in 2025-26 – and their travel schedule will help in that regard, with the team's average trip coming in at a league-low 618 miles.
27. Chicago Bulls
✈️ Total miles traveled: 37,436
📏 Average trip: 693 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 36
Ignore the part where the Bulls play 13 of their final 20 games away from Chicago, and the 2025-26 schedule looks rather favorable for the six-time NBA champions. Things look especially good from Dec. 3-Jan. 3, when the Bulls play 10 of 13 at home, with only trips to Cleveland (315 miles) and Atlanta (606 miles) on the docket.
26. Cleveland Cavaliers
✈️ Total miles traveled: 37,464
📏 Average trip: 646 miles
🕒 # of time zone changes: 28
Speaking of those Cavaliers, they have to be at least a bit chafed at being forced to travel a whopping 28 miles more than their Windy City rivals. But with a shorter average trip and eight fewer time zone changes, things more than even out. Cleveland has its own stretch of 10 home games in a 13-game span from Oct. 31-Nov. 23.
