How To Watch The 2026-27 NBA Season: TV Channels & Streaming

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.

Where to watch the 2026-27 NBA season at a glance

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:

NBC and Peacock: 100 regular-season games, the opening-night tripleheader, Holiday Hoops in late December, quadrupleheaders on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents’ Day, and NBA All-Star weekend in Phoenix.
ABC and ESPN: 80 regular-season games, including the five-game Christmas Day slate, plus the 2027 Western Conference Finals and the NBA Finals.
Prime Video: 66 regular-season games, the NBA Cup knockout rounds and championship game, all six Play-In Tournament games, and the 2027 Eastern Conference Finals.
NBA League Pass: games that aren’t on a national platform or in your local market, sold through the NBA App, NBA.com and cable or satellite providers, with Amazon as its main third-party digital seller.

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.

Which night is on which network

National games follow a weekly pattern, though some nights only start in midseason:

Monday: Peacock (also shown on NBC Sports Network), starting October 26
Tuesday: NBC and Peacock, with “Coast 2 Coast” doubleheaders starting October 27
Wednesday: ESPN doubleheaders
Thursday: Prime Video, starting in January
Friday: Prime Video, with ESPN adding Friday games from January
Saturday: Prime Video afternoon games from February, and ABC’s Saturday Primetime from December 12
Sunday: ABC afternoon showcases in February and March, and NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball from January 24

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.

Opening night recap: the Pistons’ 23-0 run

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.

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 rest of the tripleheader

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.

Opening-week games to watch

The NBA’s 2026-27 schedule announcement and viewing guide line up a busy first week:

Wednesday, October 21 (ESPN): Timberwolves at Heat, with LaMelo Ball and Giannis Antetokounmpo debuting for their new teams, then Warriors at Lakers.
Thursday, October 22 (ESPN): Cavaliers at 76ers, as LeBron James faces his first team, then Nuggets at Thunder, a meeting of the last two MVPs, Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Friday, October 23 (Prime Video): Knicks at Celtics at 7 p.m. ET to open Prime’s season, then Rockets at Spurs in Austin, Texas.
Monday, October 26 (Peacock): Warriors at Nuggets at 10 p.m. ET to start Peacock NBA Monday.
Tuesday, October 27 (NBC and Peacock): the first Coast 2 Coast Tuesday doubleheader.

Big dates later in the season

December 11: NBA Cup championship game at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (Prime Video).
December 25: Christmas Day on ABC and ESPN, including a Knicks vs. Spurs rematch of the 2026 Finals.
January 14 and 17: Spurs vs. Pelicans in Paris and then Manchester, England, the NBA’s first regular-season game there (Prime Video).
January 21: Jaylen Brown’s first game back in Boston, with the 76ers (Prime Video).
February 19-21: NBA All-Star weekend in Phoenix (NBC and Peacock).

How to pick the right setup

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.

FAQ

What channel is the NBA on in 2026-27?

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.

Can I watch the NBA without cable?

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.

Where are the 2027 NBA Finals?

The NBA Finals air exclusively on ABC. ESPN platforms also have the 2027 Western Conference Finals, while Prime Video has the Eastern Conference Finals.