2026–27 NBA season
81st NBA season
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The 2026–27 NBA season is the upcoming 81st season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season is expected to begin in October 2026, and end in April 2027. The fourth edition of the in-season NBA Cup tournament is planned to be held in November and December 2026. The 2027 NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for February 21 at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona.[1] The play-in tournament is then planned to be played in April 2027 followed by the playoffs the next day, and conclude with the NBA Finals in June.
| 2026–27 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | |
| Games | 82 |
| Teams | 30 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN/ABC, NBC/NBCSN, NBA TV |
| Streaming partner(s) | ESPN app/Disney+, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video |
| Draft | |
| Regular season | |
| NBA Cup | |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals | |
Transactions
Draft
The 2026 NBA draft will take place on June 23–24 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.[2]
Free agency
Free agency negotiations will begin on June 30 at 6 p.m. ET. Players may be signed after the July moratorium on July 6 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Coaching changes
| Team | 2025–26 season | 2026–27 season |
|---|---|---|
| Off-season | ||
| Chicago Bulls | Billy Donovan | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Doc Rivers | |
| New Orleans Pelicans | James Borrego (interim) | |
Off-season
- On April 13, 2026, Doc Rivers resigned from his position as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.[3]
- On April 21, 2026, Billy Donovan stepped down as the Chicago Bulls' head coach.[4]
Preseason
In addition to regular preseason games hosted at NBA teams' own arenas, the NBA often hosts neutral site preseason games (either in domestic non-NBA markets or foreign markets) or against non-NBA teams. Listed below are only those neutral site or preseason games.
International games
| Date | Teams | Arena | Location | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 9 | Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks | Venetian Arena | Macau, China | [5] |
| October 11 | Dallas Mavericks vs. Houston Rockets | |||
Regular season
The NBA is expected to release the regular season schedule in August 2026.
International games
The NBA plans to hold regular season games in 2027 at Co-op Live in Manchester, United Kingdom and at Accor Arena in Paris, France, with dates and teams to be announced at a later date.[6]
| Date | Teams | Arena | Location | Reference | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBA Mexico City Game 2026 | |||||
| November 7 | Denver Nuggets vs. Indiana Pacers | Mexico City Arena | Mexico City, Mexico | TBD | |
| NBA Paris Game 2027 | |||||
| TBD | TBD vs. TBD | Accor Arena | Paris, France | TBD | |
| NBA Manchester Game 2027 | |||||
| TBD | TBD vs. TBD | Co-op Live | Manchester, United Kingdom | TBD | |
NBA Cup
The NBA Cup is expected to have the same basic structure as previous seasons:[7]
- All games except the championship final count towards the regular-season standings.
- Six intraconference pools of five (three pools per conference).
- Group games against each of the other teams in their pool (two at home and two on the road) will be held on Fridays and other select days in November.
- The winners of each pool (three teams per conference) and two wild-card teams (one team per conference) advance to a single-elimination tournament in early December.
- To compensate, only 80 regular season games for each team is initially announced during the offseason. The first two rounds of the tournament count as regular-season games 81 and 82. The championship game is an extra 83rd game that does not count toward the regular season. Teams that do not qualify for knockout round, or are eliminated in the quarterfinals, will then be scheduled additional games against other teams eliminated in the same conference (if possible) and round to reach 82 games.
- The NBA is seeking a new site this season to replace T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada as the host of the semifinals and championship game.[8]
Media
Television
National
This will be the second season of 11-year deals with the ESPN family of networks, NBC Sports and Amazon Prime Video.[9][10]
Linear television
- ESPN's schedule includes NBA Wednesday throughout the regular season, as well as games on select Thursdays–Sundays (including on the final day of the season). ABC and ESPN will air a slate of Christmas Day games before ABC carries NBA Saturday Primetime and NBA Sunday Showcase games on select weekends between January and March. ESPN will also have coverage of the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.[10][11]
- The NBC broadcast network's schedule begins with the opening night doubleheader before airing weekly Coast 2 Coast Tuesday doubleheaders throughout the rest of the regular season; during most weeks NBC affiliates will have the option to show the 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT game, the 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT contest, or both Tuesday games at their discretion. NBC also has the rights to Sunday Night Basketball between February and April, games on Veterans Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day , and Presidents' Day, as well as the NBA All-Star Game.[10][12][13] NBCSN will be utilized as an overflow channel for NBC, as well as simulcasting Peacock's Monday and other exclusive telecasts.[14]
- NBA TV will continue to televise select games throughout the regular season, simulcast from regional broadcasters.[15]
Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video's schedule includes Friday night games throughout the regular season (including most NBA Cup group stage nights), Thursday night games between February and April, and select Saturday and Sunday afternoon games. The streaming service will also have the entire knockout round of the NBA Cup.[10][16]
- The ESPN app's Unlimited plan will stream all ESPN-produced games. The ESPN app's lower Select plan or Disney+ may also stream select games.[11]
- Peacock will simulcast all games aired by the NBC broadcast network, including both Coast 2 Coast Tuesday games nationwide. Peacock will also have exclusive Monday night games throughout the season.[10][12]
- The league-owned NBA League Pass will continue to offer out-of-market games, and live access to NBA TV.
Postseason
Amazon Prime Video will broadcast all play-in tournament games,[13] and will have between nine and 17 first-round playoff games, and between five and nine second-round playoff games. ESPN and ABC will air approximately 18 games in the first two rounds. NBC and/or Peacock will air between 22 and 34 games in the first two rounds, with at least half of them airing on NBC.[13]
Per a rotation, ESPN/ABC will air a conference final, and Amazon Prime Video will exclusively stream the other conference final. ABC will have NBA Finals for the 25th consecutive season.[13]
Local
Folding of FanDuel Sports Network
FanDuel Sports Network is expected to fold after the 2025–26 season.[17][18] While some affected teams may find a replacement broadcaster, the NBA is also exploring plans to launch a centralized hub like Major League Baseball Local Media.[19][20]
