When Does the NBA Season Start? 2026-27 Schedule, Christmas Games & How to Watch

NBA 2026-27 Season
20 Oct
Opening night 2026
25 Dec
Five Christmas games
19–21 Feb
All-Star 2027, Phoenix
11 Apr
Regular season ends

The 2026-27 NBA season starts on Tuesday 20 October 2026 with an opening-night tripleheader: Boston at Detroit, Philadelphia at New York and Oklahoma City at San Antonio. The 82-game regular season runs to Sunday 11 April 2027, with the NBA Cup group stage from 30 October, five games on Christmas Day and All-Star Weekend in Phoenix on 19 to 21 February. Every game is on our NBA schedule calendar; the next games, key dates and how to watch are below.

Next upNBA Season Tip-Off 2026-27Monday 19 October 2026

Key facts

Opening night Tuesday 20 October 2026: Celtics at Pistons, 76ers at Knicks, Thunder at Spurs
Regular season 82 games per team, 20 October 2026 – 11 April 2027
NBA Cup Group play from Friday 30 October; championship game Friday 11 December 2026
Christmas Day Friday 25 December 2026, five games
All-Star 2027 Friday 19 – Sunday 21 February 2027, Phoenix
Rivals Week 26 – 30 January 2027
Playoffs Play-In Tournament then playoffs from mid-April 2027

Next NBA games

The next games on the NBA schedule with tip-off times in US Eastern and UK time.

Date Game Tip-off (ET / UK)
Tue 20 Oct NBA Season Tip-Off 2026-27 All day
Tue 20 Oct Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons 3pm EDT / 8pm BST
Tue 20 Oct Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Tue 20 Oct Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs 9:30pm EDT / 2:30am BST
Wed 21 Oct Atlanta Hawks at Orlando Magic 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Wed 21 Oct Milwaukee Bucks at Washington Wizards 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Wed 21 Oct Minnesota Timberwolves at Miami Heat 7:30pm EDT / 12:30am BST
Wed 21 Oct Charlotte Hornets at Brooklyn Nets 7:30pm EDT / 12:30am BST
Wed 21 Oct Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors 7:30pm EDT / 12:30am BST
Wed 21 Oct Utah Jazz at Memphis Grizzlies 8pm EDT / 1am BST
Wed 21 Oct Indiana Pacers at New Orleans Pelicans 8pm EDT / 1am BST
Wed 21 Oct Dallas Mavericks at Houston Rockets 8:30pm EDT / 1:30am BST
Wed 21 Oct Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Wed 21 Oct Phoenix Suns at Portland Trail Blazers 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Wed 21 Oct Sacramento Kings at LA Clippers 10:30pm EDT / 3:30am BST
Thu 22 Oct Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Thu 22 Oct Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder 9:30pm EDT / 2:30am BST
Fri 23 Oct New York Knicks at Boston Celtics 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Fri 23 Oct Atlanta Hawks at Charlotte Hornets 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Fri 23 Oct Dallas Mavericks at Indiana Pacers 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Fri 23 Oct Minnesota Timberwolves at Orlando Magic 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Fri 23 Oct Toronto Raptors at Washington Wizards 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Fri 23 Oct Detroit Pistons at Miami Heat 8pm EDT / 1am BST
Fri 23 Oct Chicago Bulls at Milwaukee Bucks 8pm EDT / 1am BST
Fri 23 Oct Houston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs 9:30pm EDT / 2:30am BST
Fri 23 Oct New Orleans Pelicans at Utah Jazz 9:30pm EDT / 2:30am BST
Fri 23 Oct Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Fri 23 Oct LA Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Fri 23 Oct Portland Trail Blazers at Sacramento Kings 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Sat 24 Oct Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets 6pm EDT / 11pm BST

See every fixture on the calendar →

Key dates

Date Milestone
Tuesday 20 October 2026 Opening night tripleheader: Boston at Detroit (3pm ET), Philadelphia at New York (7pm ET), Oklahoma City at San Antonio (9:30pm ET)
Friday 30 October 2026 NBA Cup group play begins
Friday 11 December 2026 NBA Cup championship game
Friday 25 December 2026 Christmas Day, five games
26 – 30 January 2027 NBA Rivals Week
Friday 19 – Sunday 21 February 2027 NBA All-Star 2027, Phoenix
Sunday 11 April 2027 Regular season ends
Mid-April 2027 Play-In Tournament, then the NBA Playoffs

Christmas Day 2026 games

Tip-off (ET) Game
12:00pm San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks (Finals rematch)
2:30pm Miami Heat at Boston Celtics
5:00pm Philadelphia 76ers at Los Angeles Lakers
Evening Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves
Late Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors

How to watch

United States
Games are split across NBC and Peacock, ESPN and ABC, and Amazon Prime Video under the league’s media deals, with NBA League Pass for out-of-market games. Christmas Day is on ABC and ESPN.
United Kingdom
Sky Sports NBA shows several games a week including the Christmas Day slate; NBA League Pass streams every game.
Canada
TSN, Sportsnet and NBA League Pass.
Australia
ESPN via Foxtel and Kayo, plus NBA League Pass.

Tickets

Tickets are sold by each team through Ticketmaster and the NBA’s official resale marketplace. Opening night and Christmas Day games sell out fastest.

Frequently asked questions

When does the 2026-27 NBA season start?

The 2026-27 NBA regular season starts on Tuesday 20 October 2026 with three games: Boston at Detroit, Philadelphia at New York and Oklahoma City at San Antonio.

What are the NBA Christmas Day games in 2026?

Five games on Friday 25 December 2026: Spurs at Knicks, Heat at Celtics, 76ers at Lakers, Thunder at Timberwolves and Nuggets at Warriors.

When is the 2027 NBA All-Star Game?

NBA All-Star 2027 is in Phoenix from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 February 2027.

When does the NBA regular season end?

The regular season ends on Sunday 11 April 2027, followed by the Play-In Tournament and the playoffs.

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