Every national NBA game in 2026-27 is on NBC/Peacock, ABC/ESPN or Prime Video. Here’s which night is on which network, the opening-week games to watch, and how the Pistons stunned the Celtics on opening night.
November 11, 2026
Every national NBA game in 2026-27 is on NBC/Peacock, ABC/ESPN or Prime Video. Here’s which night is on which network, the opening-week games to watch, and how the Pistons stunned the Celtics on opening night.
Kara
Every nationally televised NBA game in 2026-27 is on one of three places: NBC and Peacock, ABC and ESPN, or Amazon Prime Video. Everything else, meaning out-of-market games that aren’t on a national broadcast, runs on NBA League Pass. The season tipped off on Tuesday, October 20, with a tripleheader on NBC and Peacock, and the first game was a wild one: the Detroit Pistons came back from 22 points down to beat the Boston Celtics 121-113. Here’s how to watch from here, which night belongs to which network, and the opening-week games worth circling.
This is the second year of the league’s 11-year media deals with Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBCUniversal (NBC/Peacock) and Amazon (Prime Video). According to the NBA’s official viewing guide, the split looks like this:
The NBA says every national game will also stream: ABC and ESPN games on the ESPN App, NBC games on Peacock and Amazon games on Prime Video. Yahoo Sports notes that the broadcast and cable channels are also available on live TV services such as YouTube TV and DirecTV.
National games follow a weekly pattern, though some nights only start in midseason:
The NBA also brought back “Tap to Watch,” which links you straight to wherever a live game is airing from the NBA App and NBA.com, and you can add the schedule to your phone’s calendar through nba.ecal.com. Football fans can catch up on the Broncos’ win over the Chiefs.
The season started with a 3 p.m. ET matinee in Detroit, and it delivered. Boston led 72-50 early in the third quarter after Paul George hit three 3-pointers in under a minute. Detroit then outscored the Celtics 23-0 over about five minutes of the fourth quarter to pull away, according to NBA.com’s takeaways. The league said it was the largest comeback on the first day of an NBA season since 1997-98. Basketball fans can also catch up on the Valkyries winning the 2026 WNBA championship in Game 7.
Jalen Duren and Cade Cunningham each scored 22 for the Pistons, Duncan Robinson added 21 and Javonte Green scored 19 after not playing in the first half. George scored 38 in his Celtics debut, the most ever by a Celtic in his first game for the team, the AP recap on ESPN reports. Jayson Tatum, starting his first full season since tearing his Achilles tendon in May 2025, shot 6 of 23 for 13 points and 11 assists.
The night continued at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks raised their 2025-26 championship banner before hosting the 76ers, who added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown over the summer. It was the Knicks’ first title in 53 years. The tripleheader closed with the Thunder visiting the Spurs at 9:30 p.m. ET in a rematch of last season’s seven-game Western Conference Finals. Those two games were still to finish when this article was published, so check NBA.com’s live coverage for final scores.
The NBA’s 2026-27 schedule announcement and viewing guide line up a busy first week:
If you follow one team, start with your local broadcast and see which national games it has on each network; you may only need one or two of the streaming services. If you watch the whole league, you’ll need access to all three national partners plus League Pass to see nearly every game. Viewers who already pay for a live TV service should check which of NBC, ABC and ESPN their plan carries before adding anything. Our guide to the future of streaming TV explains why sports rights are splitting across more apps, and if you also follow soccer, here’s why the FA Cup is worth watching live.
National games air on NBC and Peacock, ABC and ESPN, and Prime Video. Local and out-of-market games air on regional broadcasts and NBA League Pass.
Yes. Every national game streams on the ESPN App, Peacock or Prime Video, and League Pass is sold directly through the NBA App and NBA.com.
The NBA Finals air exclusively on ABC. ESPN platforms also have the 2027 Western Conference Finals, while Prime Video has the Eastern Conference Finals.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026, with a tripleheader on NBC and Peacock: Celtics at Pistons, 76ers at Knicks and Thunder at Spurs.
Featured photo: Knicks warmup at Madison Square Garden by Julien Menichini, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 2.0.
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