What the league released
The NBA released its complete 2026-27 regular-season schedule on August 13, 2026, covering 1,230 games across all 30 teams and the full broadcast lineup for Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon. The schedule runs from opening night on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, through the final day of the regular season on Sunday, April 11, 2027, with every team playing that closing day. Eighty of each team's 82 games are assigned at release, with the remaining two for each club to be slotted between Dec. 4 and Dec. 10 based on Emirates NBA Cup Group Play results.
Opening night and the first week
American Express NBA Tip-Off 2026 is built around an NBC/Peacock tripleheader on Oct. 20: Boston at Detroit at 3 p.m. ET, the defending champion New York Knicks hosting the Philadelphia 76ers at 7 p.m. ET, and San Antonio meeting Oklahoma City at Frost Bank Center at 9:30 p.m. ET. ESPN follows on Oct. 21 with Giannis Antetokounmpo's Miami Heat debut against the Minnesota Timberwolves and a Stephen Curry-Golden State Warriors visit to Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers. On Oct. 22, LeBron James makes his Philadelphia home debut against Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Emirates NBA Cup calendar
The in-season tournament's Group Play features 60 games on designated "Cup Nights" every Friday from Oct. 30 through Nov. 27, plus Tuesday, Nov. 24 and Wednesday, Nov. 25. Prime Video will carry the single-elimination Knockout Rounds, with quarterfinals on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, semifinals on Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9, and the championship on Friday, Dec. 11.
Where to watch
Every national game is available through broadly distributed streaming: the ESPN App for ABC/ESPN contests, Peacock for NBCUniversal broadcasts and Prime Video for Amazon games. The NBA App's Tap to Watch feature links fans to live national, local, international and League Pass telecasts, and fans can add the schedule to their digital calendars through nba.ecal.com. NBA TV's schedule remains to be announced.
Storylines the schedule sets up
The Oct. 20 opener at Madison Square Garden pairs the Knicks' championship-ring and banner ceremony with the debut of Philadelphia's retooled roster built around Jaylen Brown and James alongside Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe. The late opening-night slot serves as a rematch of the prior season's seven-game Western Conference finals between Oklahoma City and a San Antonio group that retains Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and Tobias Harris.
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