The NBA has never spread itself across so many screens at once. And the 2025 26 season is setting records before a single tipoff. For the first time, fans will have national games televised or streamed every night of the week across NBC, ABC, ESPN, Peacock, Prime Video, and the ESPN App. The league confirmed an increase to 247 national games, up from 172 last season. This is the most comprehensive rollout in league history, and it changes viewing habits quickly.

Two big shifts drive the new plan: with NBC returning to NBA coverage and Amazon Prime Video joining as a primary home, Disney keeps its long partnership active through ABC and ESPN. And every national telecast will stream through the ESPN App, Peacock, or Prime Video as appropriate. The NBA will also guide viewers through the NBA App and NBA.com to the right live stream with one click. With that foundation in place, here is how to watch the entire season with no confusion.

Opening week and weekly watch plan

Opening night is Tuesday, October 21, on NBC and Peacock. Featuring the Thunder hosting the Rockets, followed by the Warriors visiting the Lakers in prime time. Those two games restart a familiar broadcast sound and bring star power from the start, with rings and banners before tip-off in Oklahoma City. The next two nights are ESPN doubleheaders on Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday belongs to Prime Video with a debut doubleheader. That four-night run sets the tone for the year.

After opening week, the schedule locks into a weekly rhythm that is simple to follow. Monday games stream on Peacock as Peacock NBA Monday. This gives a national window to start the week cleanly. Tuesday is Coast 2 Coast Tuesday on NBC and Peacock with doubleheaders that serve both coasts. Meanwhile, Wednesday is for ESPN with weekly doubleheaders. Thursday and Friday are Prime Video windows, with ESPN adding select Fridays in the second half. Saturday splits with Prime Video in the afternoon and ABC at night consistently.

Sundays deliver two national windows that cover both coasts comfortably. ABC carries afternoon showcase games, then NBC finishes the week with Sunday Night Basketball on NBC and Peacock, once the NFL season ends. Every ABC and ESPN game is also on the ESPN App. While every NBC telecast streams on Peacock, and every Amazon game sits inside Prime Video. Every team will appear at least twice nationally, and the league trimmed the average back-to-backs to keep quality high throughout.

Marquee events and big dates

Christmas Day remains a centerpiece with five games on ABC and ESPN that run from noon to night. The slate opens with the Cavaliers at the Knicks before rolling to the Spurs at Oklahoma City. Followed by Mavericks at Warriors, Rockets at Lakers, and Timberwolves at Nuggets to close the night. Martin Luther King Jr. Day features four games across Peacock and NBC. This includes Thunder at Cavaliers and Knicks hosting the Mavericks. The two days remain signature viewing blocks, and they anchor the winter calendar neatly.

Rivals Week returns in January with eleven national games across five days. Including a Saturday triple-header on ABC and doubleheaders across NBC, ESPN, and Prime Video. All-Star Weekend moves to Intuit Dome, with Friday events on Peacock and the All-Star Game on NBC. The shoulder content is scheduled to be shared across platforms. Mid-season also brings the Emirates NBA Cup Group Play from late October to late November and the knockout rounds in December on Prime Video. This itself keeps competitive stakes high midyear.

Several matchups jump off the page early and give viewers easy checkpoints to plan around. The Finals rematch of Thunder and Pacers appears on October 23 on ESPN and again on January 23 on Prime Video for a split home and road look. LeBron James and Stephen Curry face off on opening night on NBC and meet again on ABC and Prime later in the year.

Cooper Flagg visits Boston on March 6 on ESPN, and more return games dot the calendar in both conferences.

Play in playoffs and finals explained

The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament streams exclusively on Prime Video on April 14, April 15, and April 17, which finalizes seeds seven and eight in each conference. The first and second rounds of the playoffs are spread across ABC, ESPN, NBC, and Peacock, which ensures multiple national windows every night. The Conference Finals will air on ABC and ESPN across alternating nights. That split keeps familiar voices in the semifinals while sharing early rounds widely for reach.

The NBA Finals remain exclusive to ABC. While select games are simulcast on Peacock to widen access for streaming households. ESPN Radio continues national audio all season. This includes selected holiday and cup games, which help fans on the go. Global fans also get more afternoon windows in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa through league partners and League Pass. With every platform integrated, the league wants a one-click path from the NBA App to the live feed you need.

Fans can simplify planning by saving the weekly grid and circling key dates in the App for alerts and flex updates. Mondays are Peacock, Tuesdays are NBC and Peacock, Wednesdays are ESPN, Thursdays are Prime Video, and Fridays mix Prime Video and ESPN, with Saturdays and Sundays split between Prime Video, ABC, NBC, and Peacock as noted.

What makes the 2025-26 NBA season coverage different?

The upcoming season marks a quite dramatic transformation in NBA broadcasting history, fueled by a financial revolution. The league’s previous media deals were worth about $2.7 billion annually, but the new 11-year agreements with Disney, NBC, and Amazon total a staggering $77 billion. This massive leap to roughly $7 billion per year reflects the insane value of live sports in a fragmented media landscape and shows how desperate companies are to secure it. The sheer scale of this investment is the engine driving every single change fans will see.

This financial shift comes with a huge emotional change for longtime viewers: the end of TNT’s iconic coverage. After nearly 40 years, the network known for its beloved “Inside the NBA” crew is bowing out domestically. This concludes an era defined by charismatic analysis and memorable moments. Replacing that tradition is the return of a nostalgic giant, as NBC comes back after a 23-year absence. The network is bringing back its famous “Roundball Rock” theme and aims to recapture the magic of its 1990s broadcasting heyday.

The most immediate difference for fans will be the sheer volume and accessibility of games. Surprisingly enough, there will be national games every single night of the week. Crucially, broadcast television is making a surprising comeback, with games on free, over-the-air channels like ABC and NBC increasing by 400%. This counters the trend of sports being locked behind expensive cable packages and provides more options for how to watch.

Perhaps the biggest shift is the full embrace of streaming. Every national game will be available on a streaming service, with Peacock, Prime Video, and the ESPN App becoming essential platforms. This structure directly addresses the rise of “cord-nevers”– younger fans who never subscribed to cable. The NBA App will act as a central hub, seamlessly guiding fans to the correct stream. This new model prioritizes flexibility, ensuring you can watch the games no matter how you choose to connect.

Final word?

This new era is about more than just finding a game. It is a complete reimagining of the fan experience for the modern age. The combination of broadcast television’s wide reach and streaming’s flexibility offers something for everyone. While saying goodbye to TNT’s crew is bittersweet, the new deals provide unprecedented access and choice, ultimately putting more basketball in front of more fans than ever before. The 2025-26 season isn’t just a new schedule; it’s the start of a whole new way to watch the game we love.