The 2025 NBA National TV Schedule is a Wild Road with 4 teams Mostly Covered
The NBA Schedule was officially released on Thursday afternoon, as it was covered on NBA Today during the daily 3:00 p.m. show. What comes with the schedule release that is the most important to the casual fan is how many games each team will have in the national market during the season, which is where the Wild Road comes into play. There are four teams with 34 nationally televised games this season, including the outstanding defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who steamrolled through the NBA to earn the franchise’s first Championship in OKC. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the national TV schedule for the 2025-26 season.
The Most Nationally Televised Teams in the 2025-26 NBA Season
Like previously mentioned in the introduction, the Oklahoma City headlines these four teams that have 34 nationally televised games. Led by the reigning MVP and NBA Finals MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder were obviously going to be among the most televised teams. The other three teams with 34 nationally televised games include the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, and the Los Angeles Lakers! All three teams make the most sense to have 34 national TV games as well as they are all big brands currently in the association at this particular moment in time, especially with Lebron James and Luka Doncic on the Lakers and Stephen Curry on the Warriors.
The New York Knicks are here because not only are they in the second biggest market, New York, but they’re most likely going to be the Eastern Conference’s Top Team next year, thanks to the injuries to the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and the Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton. So it was justified to give them 34 games as well, even if they have been a disappointment at times with this core led by Jalen Brunson. The Houston Rockets round out the top five on the list with 28 national TV appearances with the acquisition of Kevin Durant in the offseason.
Other Notable Teams That People are Wondering where Their National TV Games Are
Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves will be on national markets 28 times as well, and the Nuggets have 26 games on the National Stage this season. The Boston Celtics, without Tatum, are still among the top teams with 25 National TV games. THE SHOCKER IS THAT THE DEFENDING EAST CONFERENCE CHAMPS INDIANA PACERS, ONLY HAVE NINE GAMES ON THE NATIONAL MARKET! This is obviously because of Haliburton’s torn Achilles injury that he suffered in Game 7 of the Finals, but it sucks for Indianapolis and the Pacers fans in general.
The other two Texas Teams are also going to be recognized really well this season on the national stage. The Mavericks have 23 games, and the Spurs have 22 games in the National Markets this season. The other top contender in the East, according to Vegas, heading into the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have 24 National Games in this 2025-26 season. Now, let’s look at the teams that are going to be strictly in their Local Markets as the bottom dwellers.
The Teams with the least Amount of National TV Games
These Teams in this section are probably going to be among the Worst Teams in the league, as these teams have weird situations with their teams or their rebuilding. The Bulls and Hornets each have three National games. While the Jazz, Nets, Pelicans, Raptors, and Wizards all have JUST TWO!
All of these teams are most likely going to be back in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, as all of these teams are probably going to be HORRIBLE in 2025-26. The only puzzling team is the Pelicans because when Zion is “HEALTHY”, he is MUST-WATCH TV! But when is Zion healthy? You don’t have to answer that if you really know his situation.
Final Thoughts
The 2025-26 NBA National Schedule is a wild road map that is going to have a long list of twists and turns like the Yellow Brick Road in The Wizard of Oz. This season is going to be an interesting road where the Thunder are going to have the inside edge of being the favorites to win the championship, but there are plenty of other contenders that will be in the Thunder’s way in 2025-26. The season is going to be around the corner real soon, So GET YOUR POPCORN READY FOR THE NBA ON NBC OPENER on the 21st of October.
