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 will be held from October 30 through December 11, 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 | |
| Top draft pick | AJ Dybantsa |
| Picked by | Washington Wizards |
| Regular season | |
| NBA Cup | |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals | |
Transactions
Retirements
- On July 7, 2026, Kyle Lowry announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played 20 seasons with the NBA, and was an NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Lowry was the last active player from the 2006 NBA draft.
Draft
The 2026 NBA draft took place on June 23–24 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.[2]
Free agency
Free agency negotiations began 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 | Tiago Splitter |
| Dallas Mavericks | Jason Kidd | Dusty May |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Doc Rivers | Taylor Jenkins |
| New Orleans Pelicans | James Borrego (interim) | Jamahl Mosley |
| Orlando Magic | Jamahl Mosley | Sean Sweeney |
| Portland Trail Blazers | Tiago Splitter (interim) | Micah Nori |
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]
- On April 30, 2026, the Milwaukee Bucks hired Taylor Jenkins as their new head coach.[5]
- On May 4, 2026, the Orlando Magic fired head coach Jamahl Mosley after five seasons with the team.[6]
- On May 18, 2026, the New Orleans Pelicans hired Jamahl Mosley as their new head coach.[7]
- On May 19, 2026, the Dallas Mavericks and head coach Jason Kidd mutually agreed to part ways.[8]
- On June 1, 2026, the Orlando Magic hired Sean Sweeney as their new head coach.[9]
- On June 16, 2026, the Chicago Bulls hired Tiago Splitter as their new head coach.[10]
- On June 23, 2026, the Portland Trail Blazers hired Micah Nori as their new head coach.[11]
- On June 23, 2026, the Dallas Mavericks hired Dusty May as their new head coach.[12]
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 | [13] |
| 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 Accor Arena in Paris, France on January 14 and at Co-op Live in Manchester, United Kingdom on January 17 between the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans.[14]
| 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 | |||||
| January 14 | San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans | Accor Arena | Paris, France | TBD | |
| NBA Manchester Game 2027 | |||||
| January 17 | San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans | Co-op Live | Manchester, United Kingdom | TBD | |
NBA Cup
The NBA Cup is expected to have the same basic structure as previous seasons:[15]
- 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 semifinals will move to the home arenas of the higher-seeded teams in each conference.
- The championship game for this edition will be held at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana as part of a new vision to host the game at more distinct and iconic basketball arenas. It will replace T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, which hosted the championship game during the first three editions of the Cup.[16][17]
Uniform and logo changes
- The Houston Rockets unveiled new uniforms resembling the "ketchup and mustard" look that was used during their back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995. The "R" logo remains as the team's primary mark, but with an added yellow accent to reflect its reintroduction into the Rockets' color scheme.[18]
- The Minnesota Timberwolves unveiled a new logo and uniforms. The new logo resembles their previous mark introduced in 2017, but using a color scheme similar to the one used from the franchise's inception in 1989 until 1996. The Icon and Association uniforms also resemble the original look of the Timberwolves while the Statement uniform resembles their black uniforms from the Kevin Garnett era.[19]
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.[20][21]
Linear television
- ESPN's schedule includes NBA Wednesday throughout the regular season, as well as a limited selection of games on the other days of the week as the schedule permits. 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.[21][22]
- 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.[21][23][24] NBCSN will be utilized as an overflow channel for NBC, as well as simulcasting Peacock's Monday and other exclusive telecasts.[25]
- NBA TV will continue to televise select games throughout the regular season, simulcast from regional broadcasters.[26]
Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video's schedule includes Friday night games during the most of the regular season (including most NBA Cup group stage nights), Thursday night games between February and April, and select Saturday afternoon games. The streaming service will also have the entire knockout round of the NBA Cup.[21][27]
- 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.[22]
- 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.[21][23]
- 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 stream all play-in tournament games. The first two playoff rounds will then be split between Amazon Prime Video, ESPN/ABC, and NBC/Peacock. Amazon Prime Video will have between nine and 17 first-round games, and between five and nine second-round games. ESPN and ABC will air approximately 18 games in the first two rounds. NBC and/or Peacock will air between 15 and 23 first-round games, and between seven and 11 second-round games, with at least half of all of them airing on NBC.[24]
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.[24]
Local
The NBA has reportedly explored the possibility of building a "streaming hub" to centralize in-market digital rights in partnership with individual teams, either in lieu of or in partnership with their regional television broadcasters. The exact structure of the proposed service and how it would interact with the current out-of-market NBA League Pass service has not yet been determined, and the league had reportedly been in discussions with Amazon, DAZN, ESPN, and YouTube TV.[28][29]
- In May 2026, Gray Media renewed its contract with the Phoenix Suns through 2030. As part of the agreement, digital rights to the team will also be taken over by Gray, with the company planning to launch an Arizona's Family Sports app.[30][31]
Folding of FanDuel Sports Network
FanDuel Sports Network wound down operations after the 2025–26 season, impacting 13 teams.[32][33] Both DAZN and FuboTV expressed interest in acquiring rights to all or some of these teams, [34][35] although Fubo later pulled its offers as it found that they were not "fiscally prudent".[36]
- On May 13, 2026, the Detroit Pistons announced a multi-year agreement with Scripps Sports to carry games on broadcast television and a DTC service. The team's flagship station will be WMYD in Detroit.[37]
- On June 8, 2026, the Miami Heat announced an agreement with WPLG to carry games on broadcast television, and streaming on the Local 10+ Platinum app.[38][39]
