The 2026-27 NBA regular season begins Tuesday, October 20, with three nationally televised games and concludes Sunday, April 11, 2027. The league has assigned dates and opponents for 80 of each team’s 82 games; NBA Cup results will determine the remaining two.

National games will be available through the ESPN App, Peacock or Prime Video, depending on the broadcaster. NBA TV’s schedule will be announced later.

2026 NBA opening-night schedule

NBC and Peacock will carry all three games on October 20. Times are Eastern:

  • Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons — 3 p.m.
  • Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks — 7 p.m.
  • Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs — 9:30 p.m.

The unusual afternoon start in Detroit creates a full-day opening slate. Boston and Detroit had the Eastern Conference’s two best regular-season records in 2025-26.

The middle game features the reigning champion Knicks raising their banner before facing a reconfigured Philadelphia team. It will be the 76ers debut for LeBron James and Jaylen Brown.

The nightcap is a rematch of the 2026 Western Conference finals, putting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Oklahoma City back against Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio.

The biggest games during opening week

ESPN takes over on the next two nights.

On October 21, Giannis Antetokounmpo is scheduled to make his Miami Heat debut at home against LaMelo Ball and the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7:30 p.m. Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors then visit Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers at 10 p.m.

The October 22 doubleheader begins with LeBron’s first Philadelphia home game, against Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. The Denver Nuggets visit the Thunder at 9:30 p.m., renewing the Nikola Jokić–Gilgeous-Alexander matchup.

Prime Video’s first Friday doubleheader follows on October 23. The Knicks visit the Celtics at 7 p.m., and the Houston Rockets play the Spurs at Austin’s Moody Center at 9:30 p.m. Kevin Durant starred at the University of Texas before entering the NBA, giving the Houston-San Antonio game a clear local connection.

Why are only 80 games scheduled for each team?

Every team will still play an 82-game regular season. Two dates remain open because the NBA must account for the Cup knockout rounds.

Group Play runs from October 30 through November 27. The eight teams that advance will fill part of their remaining schedule with quarterfinal and semifinal games, which count in the regular-season standings. The league will assign additional games to teams that do not advance so that everybody reaches 82.

Those unassigned games will be played between December 4 and December 10. The NBA Cup championship follows on December 11, but that final does not count toward either finalist’s regular-season record.

This means the schedule is complete enough for travel and ticket planning, but two opponents and dates per team cannot be finalized until Group Play ends.

Major return games on the schedule

Several offseason moves produced obvious reunion dates:

  • Jaylen Brown at Boston: Philadelphia visits the Celtics on January 21 on Prime Video.
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo at Milwaukee: Miami visits the Bucks on January 28 during Rivals Week.
  • Ja Morant at Memphis: Portland visits the Grizzlies on February 6.
  • LaMelo Ball at Charlotte: Minnesota visits the Hornets on February 15.
  • LeBron James at Los Angeles: The 76ers visit the Lakers on Christmas Day at 5 p.m. ET.

A return game does not carry extra value in the standings, but it gives fans a fixed date for the first public reception awaiting a former franchise player.

International games and neutral-site matchups

The Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans will play twice in Europe. Their January 14 meeting in Paris begins at 2 p.m. ET on Prime Video. They meet again January 17 in Manchester at 10:30 a.m. ET, marking the NBA’s first regular-season game in that English city.

San Antonio also plays Houston in Austin on October 23 and hosts Denver at Moody Center on February 28. Those are designated Spurs home games played outside the team’s usual Frost Bank Center venue.

National TV schedule by platform

The weekly broadcast structure gives each major partner recognizable nights:

  • ESPN: Wednesday doubleheaders throughout the season, plus selected Friday games beginning in January.
  • ABC: Saturday Primetime begins December 12, with Sunday Showcase doubleheaders starting in February.
  • NBC and Peacock: Coast 2 Coast Tuesday games run throughout the season. Sunday Night Basketball begins January 24.
  • Peacock and NBCSN: Monday games begin October 26.
  • Prime Video: Friday games begin October 23, Thursday doubleheaders start in January and selected Saturday games begin in February.

All national ABC and ESPN games will stream through the ESPN App. NBCUniversal games will be available on Peacock, while Amazon’s schedule streams on Prime Video. NBA League Pass remains the out-of-market option for games not carried nationally, subject to its usual viewing restrictions.

Other dates to know

The NBA has left Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, completely free of games. All 30 teams instead play on Monday, November 2.

All-Star weekend is scheduled for February 19-21 in Phoenix. The regular season then ends April 11, when every team will play. Eastern Conference games and the one cross-conference matchup are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET; Western Conference games begin at 8:30 p.m. ET to reduce the advantage of learning another result before tipoff.

The schedule can still change, and local broadcast information will continue to be added. The firm starting point is October 20: three games, six contenders and an immediate look at several of the league’s biggest offseason changes.