You’ve got the lights out, a bowl of popcorn in hand, Coke fizzing by your side, and your friend settled in beside you. The clock strikes 7:30 p.m. It’s game time. The NBA season opener. The moment you’ve been waiting for. But instead of the first tip-off? You’re staring at… a delay. Classic NBA.

If you’ve followed the league long enough, you know this isn’t anything new—it’s just how things roll. And Josh Hart? He couldn’t help but poke fun at it. Taking to X, he wrote, “It’s 7:42pm and the 7:30pm game hasn’t started yet. The NBA is so back 🙌🏽.”

It makes sense that Hart would be watching the game at that moment, especially since he won’t be playing in Wednesday’s Knicks season opener. His absence isn’t surprising: he suffered a significant setback during the preseason in Abu Dhabi while playing against the 76ers. And like most of us, he’ll also be waiting for the game to tip off at 7 or 7:15 PM if we’re lucky.

The real challenge starts for those trying to catch the late-night games. A 10 p.m. ET tip-off—or worse, 10:30 p.m.—already tests your patience. Throw in a 10 to 15-minute delay, and suddenly you’re staring at the screen, wondering if the game will ever begin.

It gets even trickier with NBC’s “Coast 2 Coast Tuesday,” which schedules 19 games for 11 p.m. ET. If we’re lucky, they might actually start around 11:15. Meanwhile, West Coast fans grumble about 8 p.m.

PT tip-offs—but compared to the East Coast marathon of delays, they’re practically getting an on-time start. Waiting has become part of the experience, whether we like it or not.

As of now, the game between the OKC Thunder and the Rockets has already moved through the third quarter. The Rockets seem to be holding the lead, though in Q3, OKC surged ahead by 24 while the Rockets trailed by 22. With the back-and-forth action, it’s safe to say the wait has already started to pay off.

But fans, of course, jumped right in, echoing Hart’s sentiment with laughter and a bit of‌ frustration. 

Fan reactions: Frustration, Humor, and Streaming struggles

One fan perfectly summed up the frustration, saying, “This is a league worth billions and they are still intentionally playing games late so they can fit more ads into it. Disgraceful.” It’s hard to argue. The thing is, those listed “start times” aren’t really when the ball goes up—it’s just when players finish warm-ups and get through lineup introductions.

Networks usually stay in the studio until the actual tip-off moment, skipping all that buildup. But it’s also a smart way to earn more money. By making the fans watch the entire sequence of advertisements, the networks are actually earning more money. 

Another fan couldn’t resist adding a bit of humor to the chaos, writing, “Only sport worse than football and yet I’m still gonna watch yous fail to win once again.” That’s some impressive loyalty for someone claiming to hate the game.

But if the gripe is about timing, they’ve got a point. Sure, NHL puck drops or MLB first pitches can be a few minutes late, but the NBA stands alone in its consistent misdirection of telling fans ‌a completely different time.

If the league can’t quite match the NFL’s clockwork punctuality, the least networks could do is be honest about the time. After all, baseball has it figured out: games start at odd times like 1:08 p.m. So why not list NBA tip-offs as 7:42 instead of pretending it’s 7:30?

Surely, one fan had to bring in the NBA’s counterpart, the WNBA, and make a sharp comparison. “WNBA games start so promptly. We need more of that,” they wrote. Whenever a WNBA game tips off early, say at 11:00 a.m. or 3:30 p.m., it’s usually intentional, giving kids and young fans a chance to enjoy the action.

There’s structure and purpose behind it. But with the NBA, even after signing that massive 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal, fans expected something better: smoother broadcasts, fewer hiccups. Instead, they got deja vu: sitting, waiting, and laughing at how predictably unpredictable the league can be.

Another fan hit the nail on the head, writing, “This is the next thing national broadcasts need to fix. Start the game on time.” What’s the first thing that needs fixing? The streaming chaos, of course.

With the NBA’s shiny new media deal, fans now have to play schedule bingo just to find where to watch. Sunday? ABC or NBC/Peacock. Monday? Peacock. Tuesday? NBC/Peacock again. Wednesday? ESPN. Thursday? Prime Video. Friday? Split between Prime Video and ESPN. Saturday? Prime Video and ABC.

Basically, you need a full-blown calendar to track who’s showing what, on which day, and where. Maybe that’s why the league gives us a ten-minute delay, just enough time to figure out which streaming service to scramble to before tip-off.

One fan decided to go easy on the league, they wrote, “I’m giving them the pass because it’s ring night, but it doesn’t look like the issues that were going on national TV games are going to stop.”

The OKC had earned this night, celebrating their 2025 championship glory. In less than 20 years of basketball in Oklahoma City, the Thunder built a contender after a successful rebuild. Following trips to the WCF, two conference titles, and finally, last June, their first-ever Larry O’Brien Trophy. 

But amid all the celebration, there was one silent observer: Kevin Durant. After spending eight years in OKC without ever tasting championship gold, watching his former team lift the trophy had to sting a little.

Still, as he gears up for his Houston Rockets debut, you can bet he’s just as eager to write a new chapter of his own.