2026 NBA Schedule Release TV Info, Start Time, Date and More For Full Release

NBA fans won't have to wait much longer for the 2026-27 schedule.

ESPN revealed the schedule rollout plan from the league, and the opening week and Christmas Day schedule will be announced Tuesday on Good Morning America.

From there, the NBA Cup schedule will be revealed Wednesday before the entire schedule is unveiled Thursday at 3 p.m. ET with full coverage on ESPN 2's NBA Today.

There was no shortage of major NBA storylines this offseason, which will surely play a role in which games the NBA features in high-profile spots on Christmas Day and primetime weekend showdowns.

The Philadelphia 76ers will be all over national television after trading for Jaylen Brown and signing LeBron James to a group that already included Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. Anything but a deep playoff run with that group would be a disappointment.

Philadelphia could find itself in high-profile games against Eastern Conference rivals such as the reigning-champion New York Knicks or even the Boston Celtics after the latter traded Brown away.

Knicks-Spurs Highlights

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Elsewhere in the East, the Miami Heat added Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Washington Wizards selected AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick to join Anthony Davis and Trae Young, and Tyrese Haliburton is set to return to the Indiana Pacers. 

If Kawhi Leonard ends up on the Toronto Raptors pending the results of the league's investigation, there will be plenty of massive Eastern Conference games all over the schedule.

There will be new faces on new teams in the Western Conference as well after the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for LaMelo Ball and the Portland Trail Blazers traded for Ja Morant. The Morant and Damian Lillard combination in Portland will be an intriguing one, and the Los Angeles Lakers are always heavily featured on primetime.

That won't change even without James, as the Lakers still have Luka Dončić leading the way.

It also wouldn't be a surprise to see the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder all over national television and the marquee games. They faced each other in the Western Conference Finals and could be poised to do so for the next few years with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama spearheading young cores.

The Knicks are the reigning champions, but the road to the title might run through San Antonio and Oklahoma City next season. 

And the entire league will find out what that road looks like when the entire schedule is released this week.