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ABC and ESPN, the networks of the Walt Disney Company, will return to the duties of calling some of the NBA’s biggest games.
The networks of the Walt Disney Company will continue to be the happiest place on Earth for NBA fans.
ABC and ESPN will enter their 24th consecutive season of calling the Association’s biggest games, unveiling its slate for the coming year with last week’s release of the 2025-26 regular season schedule. Disney’s networks are back on the Association’s national television board alongside newcomers Amazon and NBC, while long-running partner TNT Sports has dropped out.
After five preseason games between Oct. 5 and 16, the slate gets underway on the 22nd, with a doubleheader between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks, the presumptive Eastern Conference favorites. A Texas battle between the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, featuring the debut of newly-minted top draft pick Cooper Flagg, will serve as the nightcap.
Wednesday doubleheaders populate a good bit of the schedule for ESPN, which will also share Friday games with Amazon. Other scattered days also pepper the schedule, such as an opening week doubleheader on Oct. 23 that features an instant NBA Finals rematch between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
ESPN is also hyping a rare weekday tripleheader, taking over NBA Cup pool play coverage on Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving. The Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons get the opener in a special 5 p.m. ET tip-off with Oklahoma City and the Minnesota Timberwolves to follow. A nightcap between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors closes things out.
ABC, as usual, enters the game on Christmas Day, tipping off with another showing between Cleveland and New York. The defending champion Thunder faces Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs before Flagg’s Mavericks wage Yuletide war with the Golden State Warriors. At night, the Houston Rockets face the Los Angeles Lakers before the Minnesota Timberwolves duel the Denver Nuggets.
Weekends also loom large on the ABC calendar, with both the “Saturday Primetime” and “Sunday Showcase” packages both returning. The Saturday slate tips off with a tripleheader on Jan. 24, headlined by a brief Luka Doncic return to North Texas as a member of the Lakers in primetime. The Knicks visit the Philadelphia 76ers to start things off before another Western war between the Timberwolves and Warriors.
Sunday games tip off with another Knicks showing on Feb. 8: a Super Bowl appetizer will feature New York facing the Boston Celtics after defeating them in the second round of spring’s Eastern Conference playoffs. An ESPN game between the Timberwolves and Los Angels Clippers will follow.
The regular season closes on April 12, the final day of the regular season. ESPN has two slots to fill with games that will no doubt carry postseason implications, a similar strategy to how the National Football League treats its final “Sunday Night Football” game on NBC.
Once the regular season wraps, extensive playoff coverage will follow, including exclusive airings of both the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals for the 24th consecutive campaign. ESPN lost most of its All-Star Friday coverage to NBC networks but will continue to broadcast the All-Star Celebrity Game.
As it stands, the Knicks, Lakers, and Warriors lead the way with six showings on ABC. Recent champions Denver and Oklahoma City get eight each on ESPN. Mike Breen is poised to once again return to his duties as the voice of ABC and ESPN’s biggest games alongside color commentators Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson.
Full 2025-26 NBA on ESPN and ABC schedule below:
(All Times ET; ABC games in BOLD; ESPN2 Games Asterisked*)
Preseason
Sunday, October 5
LA Lakers at Golden State, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 12
Cleveland at Boston, 7 p.m.Denver at LA Clippers, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, October 15
Dallas vs. LA Lakers (at Las Vegas, NV), 10:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 16
*Houston at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Regular Season
Wednesday, October 22
Cleveland at New York, 7 p.m.San Antonio at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 23
Oklahoma City at Indiana, 7:30 p.m.Denver at Golden State, 10 p.m.
Wednesday, October 29
Cleveland at Boston, 7 p.m.LA Lakers at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 5
Minnesota at New York, 7:30 p.m.San Antonio at LA Lakers, 10 p.m.
Saturday, November 8
Phoenix at LA Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 12
Orlando at New York, 7 p.m.LA Lakers at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 19
Golden State at Miami, 7 p.m.New York at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 26 (Thanksgiving Eve/NBA Cup)
Detroit at Boston, 5 p.m.Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 7:30 p.m.Houston at Golden State, 10 p.m.
Thursday, December 25 (Christmas Day)
Cleveland at New York, 12 p.m.San Antonio at Oklahoma City, 2:30 p.m.Dallas at Golden State, 5 p.m.Houston at LA Lakers, 8 p.m.Minnesota at Denver, 10:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 7
LA Lakers at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.Milwaukee at Golden State, 10 p.m.
Wednesday, January 14
Cleveland at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.Denver at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
Friday, January 16
Chicago at Brooklyn, 7 p.m.Minnesota at Houston, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 21
Cleveland at Charlotte, 7 p.m.Oklahoma City at Milwaukee, 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 24
New York at Philadelphia, 3 p.m.Golden State at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m.LA Lakers at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 28
LA Lakers at Cleveland, 7 p.m.San Antonio at Houston, 9:30 p.m.
Friday, January 30
Memphis at New Orleans, 7:30 p.m.LA Clippers at Denver, 10 p.m.
Saturday, January 31
Dallas at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 1
Milwaukee at Boston, 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 4
Denver at New York, 7 p.m.Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 7
Houston at Oklahoma City, 3:30 p.m.Golden State at LA Lakers, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 8 (Super Bowl Sunday)
New York at Boston, 12:30 p.m.LA Clippers at Minnesota, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, February 11
New York at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.Memphis at Denver, 10 p.m.
Friday, February 20
Dallas at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.LA Clippers at LA Lakers, 10 p.m.
Saturday, February 21
Houston at New York, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 22
Cleveland at Oklahoma City, 1 p.m.Denver at Golden State, 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 25
Golden State at Memphis, 7:30 p.m.Boston at Denver, 10 p.m.
Friday, February 27
Cleveland at Detroit, 7 p.m.Denver at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 28
LA Lakers at Golden State, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 1
San Antonio at New York, 1 p.m.Minnesota at Denver, 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 4
Oklahoma City at New York, 7 p.m.Atlanta at Milwaukee, 9:30 p.m.
Friday, March 6
Dallas at Boston, 7 p.m.LA Clippers at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 7
Golden State at Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 8
Boston at Cleveland, 1 p.m.New York at LA Lakers, 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11
Cleveland at Orlando, 7:30 p.m.Houston at Denver, 10 p.m.
Saturday, March 14
Denver at LA Lakers, 8:30 p.m.Sacramento at LA Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 15
Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, March 18
Golden State at Boston, 7 p.m.LA Lakers at Houston, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 25
Atlanta at Detroit, 7 p.m.Houston at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 1
Atlanta at Orlando, 7:30 p.m.San Antonio at Golden State, 10 p.m.
Wednesday, April 8
Milwaukee at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.Oklahoma City at LA Clippers, 10 p.m.
Sunday, April 12
TBD, 6 p.m.TBD, 8:30 p.m.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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