NBA Strength of Schedule: How Much Does NBA Travel Distance Matter?
Most people ignore travel distance and rest days when talking about NBA strength of schedule, focusing only on how good the opposition is. While this is definitely the most important factor, gruesome travels and lack of rest shouldn’t be ignored.
I’m going to dig into the numbers for the 2025-26 season of how far teams are traveling, the number of back-to-back games they have, and how it correlates to strength of schedule. I’ve also added a betting experiment around NBA team totals to try and see if travel distance can be used as a factor when betting on over/under wins for the regular season.
Let’s start by exploring total NBA travel distance per team for 2025-26!
NBA Teams That Will Travel the Most in 2025-26
All data comes from the good folks from Positive Residual, as well as ChatGPT.
It should also be noted that there are three international regular-season games:
- Dallas Mavericks vs. Detroit Pistons – November 1, 2025 (Mexico City, Mexico)
- Memphis Grizzlies vs. Orlando Magic – January 15, 2026 (Berlin, Germany)
- Orlando Magic vs. Memphis Grizzlies – January 18, 2026 (London, United Kingdom)
The Magic are the second-most southern team in the NBA, as Miami is further south. However, the Heat only have to travel 45,892 miles this season, which would place them 12th in the rankings for most miles traveled. Meanwhile, the Magic lead the league in NBA travel distance at 54,279 miles.
Next are the Portland Trail Blazers at 52,841 miles, and the Memphis Grizzlies at 51,563 miles. This kicks off a trend, as the Magic are an Eastern Conference team. There are actually no more Eastern Conference teams until the Heat at 12th, as Western Conference teams rule the top of the rankings. However, remember that Orlando and Memphis both have to head to Europe, which bumps up their NBA travel distance.
The top five in the NBA last season in terms of most miles traveled were all Western Conference teams. Portland was second to Minnesota last season, and now, they’re second again, having to travel from the Pacific Northwest.
The Timberwolves (49,937) drop from first to fourth, while the defending champions from Oklahoma City (49,245) are next. Every team will have the Thunder circled on their calendar, and they also have to battle a brutal travel schedule.
So, keep this in mind when you’re looking at win totals at NBA betting sites. Western Conference teams, largely, have a tougher travel schedule.
Four of the teams on this list of NBA travel distance reside in the Western Conference. That’s something to keep in mind and most likely a factor when the bookies work on their odds on certain NBA bets.
NBA Teams That Will Travel the Least in 2025-26
The Indiana Pacers face the shortest travel itinerary at 35,278 miles, followed by Philadelphia at 36,743 miles. In fact, the bottom 12 in miles traveled are all from the Eastern Conference. Geographically, this makes sense, as cities are much closer together in the eastern part of the United States. Charlotte (37,195 miles), Chicago (37,482 miles), and Cleveland (37,926 miles) round out the bottom five.
The Hornets are the southernmost team in the bottom five of NBA travel distance, but they’re closer to New York than they are to Orlando. Just like the list of teams that travel the most, the teams on this list are from the same conference.
But the teams that travel the most are from the West, while teams from the East are dominating the bottom 5. We don’t get to a Western Conference team in NBA travel distance until the Los Angeles Clippers (42,956 miles) at #13!
NBA Teams Strength of Schedule Breakdown (Travel Distance and Rest Days)
| TEAM | MILES TRAVELED | STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE | REST ADVANTAGE (TIMES TEAM HAS MORE REST DAYS THAN OPP.) | REST DISADVANTAGE (TEAM A HAS LESS REST DAYS THAN OPP) | BACK TO BACK GAMES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Hawks | 44,263 | 0.487 | 10 | 10 | 13 |
| Boston Celtics | 39,271 | 0.499 | 8 | 10 | 13 |
| Brooklyn Nets | 39,834 | 0.506 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 37,195 | 0.502 | 7 | 12 | 16 |
| Chicago Bulls | 37,482 | 0.503 | 8 | 6 | 13 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 37,926 | 0.487 | 9 | 6 | 14 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 45,347 | 0.509 | 11 | 7 | 14 |
| Denver Nuggets | 47,293 | 0.479 | 8 | 12 | 16 |
| Detroit Pistons | 40,672 | 0.492 | 13 | 12 | 14 |
| Golden State Warriors | 43,789 | 0.509 | 11 | 14 | 15 |
| Houston Rockets | 44,918 | 0.492 | 7 | 9 | 14 |
| Indiana Pacers | 35,278 | 0.496 | 9 | 9 | 13 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 42,956 | 0.498 | 12 | 11 | 15 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 43,124 | 0.501 | 8 | 9 | 14 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 51,563 | 0.508 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Miami Heat | 45,892 | 0.501 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 41,293 | 0.490 | 10 | 6 | 14 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 49,937 | 0.499 | 10 | 12 | 13 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 48,156 | 0.517 | 8 | 11 | 15 |
| New York Knicks | 40,158 | 0.486 | 9 | 10 | 14 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 49,245 | 0.494 | 10 | 10 | 13 |
| Orlando Magic | 54,279 | 0.491 | 11 | 12 | 14 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 36,743 | 0.495 | 14 | 12 | 16 |
| Phoenix Suns | 47,834 | 0.514 | 8 | 11 | 16 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 52,841 | 0.514 | 11 | 9 | 15 |
| Sacramento Kings | 48,782 | 0.506 | 14 | 11 | 14 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 46,428 | 0.508 | 12 | 10 | 14 |
| Toronto Raptors | 42,387 | 0.495 | 13 | 10 | 15 |
| Utah Jazz | 46,751 | 0.495 | 14 | 11 | 15 |
| Washington Wizards | 41,845 | 0.504 | 12 | 12 | 16 |
Rest Advantage
This data from Positive Residual has identified teams’ rest advantage, meaning that they have more rest days than the opponent they’re facing that day. For example, Team A has had two days of rest between games, playing Team B, which has had just one day. The rest advantage goes to Team A.
Philadelphia, Sacramento, and Utah actually have the most rest-advantage days with 14. The 76ers travel the second-fewest miles in the league, while the Kings travel the sixth-most miles. The Jazz are 10th in NBA travel distance.
At the other end of the spectrum, Charlotte, Houston, and Memphis have the fewest rest-advantage days with seven. The Hornets are 28th in NBA travel distance, but the Grizzlies are third and the Rockets are 14th.
Rest Disadvantage
Rest disadvantage is when a team has less rest than their opponent. For example, Team A is on the second half of a back-to-back, while Team B has had at least one day of rest. Team A has the rest disadvantage.
The Golden State Warriors lead with the most rest-disadvantage days, with 14. Given the average age of their team, especially since getting Al Horford (39 years old), this could put the Warriors in a precarious position at various points throughout the season!
At the other end of the spectrum, there are three teams with six rest-disadvantage days: Chicago, Cleveland, and Milwaukee. However, all three of these are in the bottom six in terms in NBA travel distance.
Back-to-Back Games
The NBA has been trying to limit the times that teams have to play back-to-back. However, due to the schedule, and previous commitments of the arenas they play in, that’s not always doable.
In 2024-25, 11 teams had to play back-to-back games 16 times. In 2025-26, only five teams have to play back-to-backs 16 times: Charlotte, Denver, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington. The Hornets, 76ers, and Wizards are all in the bottom third of the league in NBA travel distance, while the Nuggets and Suns are in the top 10.
Back-to-back games is extremely important to look at when you’re making you’re working on your NBA strategy for futures betting.
Do Total Distance and Rest Days Affect NBA Results?
Now it’s time to determine whether travel distance and rest days affect NBA team totals betting. We will take a look at average numbers for all metrics listed so far and try to check if there’s a potential correlation to the under/over regular season wins market.
You would expect NBA teams with tough schedules to underperform, and vice versa. Let’s see if that will truly be the case in 2025-26. We will explain how everything works here and come back to update the post when the regular season is over.
Here are the averages from the five metrics we examined for NBA strength of schedule and NBA travel distance:
- Average Miles: 44,116
- Average SOS: 0.499
- Average RA: 10.1
- Average RD: 10.1
- Average B2B: 14.3
If you look at the averages for each team, for each metric, you can deduce that these teams are on the good end of the schedule (the second column shows their win total line before the start of the season):
| Team | Win Total |
|---|---|
| Atantla | 42.5 |
| Boston | 40.5 |
| Charlotte | 25.5 |
| Chicago | 33.5 |
| Cleveland | 56.5 |
| Detroit | 46.5 |
| Houston | 52.5 |
| Indiana | 38.5 |
| Memphis | 39.5 |
| Oklahoma City | 62.5 |
All of these teams are below the average mean in at least three of the five metrics we’ve looked at. While we wouldn’t recommend betting only based on that, it’s one of the factors to consider. Obviously, there are many more.
For example, potential injuries can pop up during a season. This NBA campaign is already off to a tough start as big names are injured, and perhaps, for the entire season. Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, and Portland’s Damian Lillard might not see the court this season!
However, the schedule is a good start point of picking these teams to go over their NBA preseason win totals. This is especially true of Oklahoma City, who are the favorites in this season’s NBA title odds after romping through the NBA last season.
The remaining 20 teams are on the bad end of the schedule, as they have higher-than-average numbers over the metrics. However, every team on this list can’t go under their projected win totals, so this is where additional research, and especially watching the games, comes in handy when looking for NBA betting tips.
For example, Denver has an over/under of 53.5, and they’re on the bad end of the schedule. But they’ve also immensely improved their team, especially bench depth. They also have an advantage of playing at the Ball Arena in Denver, which is 5,289 feet above sea level. That altitude has proven to give the Nuggets an edge on the opposition!
Does NBA Travel Distance Affect NBA Strength of Schedule?
You should definitely look at NBA travel distance when looking at the strength of schedule, especially for teams on road trips. These players aren’t traveling by bus anymore, as all teams have luxury planes that shuttle them from city to city.
However, teams do still have to deal with travel issues, including time spent getting to and from the airport. In the winter, the possibility of travel delays throws another wrench into the plans.
But it is an important factor, as are rest advantages and disadvantages, and back-to-back games. By using this data, along with watching games regularly and following the injury report, you’ll be able to use NBA travel distance and NBA strength of schedule to make more accurate NBA win-total picks.
Click to Contact Finn