NBA Releases Full 2025-26 Regular-Season Schedule and National Broadcast Plan
nba-2025-26-schedule-broadcast-plan
The NBA on Tuesday unveiled the entire 2025-26 regular-season slate and detailed how games will be distributed across ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Prime Video.
The league’s 80th season begins Oct. 21, when the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder host the Houston Rockets in Kevin Durant’s return to Oklahoma City. The night’s second matchup sends the Golden State Warriors to Los Angeles for LeBron James’s 23rd NBA season opener against the Lakers.
National windows
NBC/Peacock will carry Monday and Tuesday contests, Opening Night, and all four Martin Luther King Jr. Day games. Prime Video holds Thursday and Friday doubleheaders, exclusive rights to the Play-In Tournament, and every NBA Cup knockout game. ESPN and ABC keep Wednesday doubleheaders, Saturday primetime, Sunday showcase matchups and the NBA Finals.
Key dates
- NBA Cup group play: Oct. 31 – Nov. 28; knockout rounds: Dec. 9 – 16 in Las Vegas.
- Christmas Day: five games, beginning with Cavaliers at Knicks and ending with Timberwolves at Nuggets.
- Rivals Week: Jan. 20-24, featuring 11 nationally televised games in five days.
- Regular-season finale: April 12, when all 30 teams play.
Each club has 80 of its 82 games locked in; the remaining two will be assigned once NBA Cup results are known. NBA TV’s schedule will be announced later.
All nationally televised games will stream on the NBA App, NBA.com, individual team sites and partner platforms. The league also introduced a new digital prompt that directs users on league or team sites straight to live streams.
Source: Hoops Wire
