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Danny Emerman: "It could be really interesting to see how he comes back from that knee injury. I've heard that he's targeting, as early as Christmas, who knows how his rehab turns out. That is something that's obviously subject to change. If he comes back and he looks awesome, the Warriors might not want to trade him. They really love Jimmy Butler. And from what I've been told behind the scenes, they've constantly reassured him and his camp that they don't want to trade him, that they're committed to him."
Adam Silver spoke at the 2026 CNBC Sport and Boardroom Game Plan Summit at Fanatics Fest in New York, where he revealed his eagerness for James to pick his next team. “We have to finish up the schedule and where LeBron plays affects the schedule… It will influence how we set the schedule — opening week, Christmas. So I need him to make a decision,” Silver said.
While some of the credit may belong to Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves — who have played in highly-viewed games in each of their past two playoff runs — the Spurs account for several high water marks this season. Prior to the playoffs, the most-watched game of the season was Spurs-Thunder on ABC/ESPN Christmas Day and the most-watched outside of broadcast television was the Knicks-Spurs NBA Cup Final on Prime.
Atkinson said Harden's addition has unburdened Mitchell, who was carrying the weight of the team's injury and inconsistency issues earlier this season. Mitchell's 32.8 usage rate this season is his highest since 2019-20, his final season with the Utah Jazz, and ranks fifth in the NBA. During his postgame interview session after beating the Knicks, Mitchell pointed to Cleveland's previous game against New York, on Christmas Day, as a measurement for how far the team had grown.
NBC, which is carrying NBA games for the first time since the 2001-02 season, is averaging 2.6 million per Nielsen and Adobe Analytics — up 97% from the comparable windows last year, which primarily aired on TNT. (Those averages do not include games that air exclusively on Peacock, which is not Nielsen rated.) ESPN/ABC is averaging 2.06 million, up 18%. The networks own five of the ten largest audiences this season, all on Christmas Day — including the top three, Spurs-Thunder (6.71M), Cavaliers-Knicks (6.37M) and Mavericks-Warriors (6.11M).
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Stefan Bondy: Media Day at NBA Cup an influencer put on a Josh Hart jersey asked Josh Hart for a picture. And that was the extent of his question. Another influencer went around asking about Phillip Rivers and another influencer wanted to know about Christmas gifts. This is the NBA’s way now.
LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber and Jaxson Hayes are in the final year of their contracts. Austin Reaves has a player option for next season, but he’s expected to see what he can earn in free agency. The Lakers can offer him the most — up to five years and $241 million. Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart also have player options. When a team is going through some struggles — much like the Lakers, who are just 7-8 since Reaves went down with a calf injury on Christmas — playing time and points can become major issues for players looking for new contracts. “I’ve been here for four seasons now and every year it’s almost the same but it’s different,” Rui Hachimura said. “You have to survive too, so I get it, I understand it. I think we talked about before the season winning is going to help. So, we got to focus on that and everything is going to come out.”
Justin Russo: Austin Reaves (left calf strain) is OUT for the Lakers tomorrow against the Clippers. Reaves hasn't played since Christmas due to the injury.
“We’ve complained. We’ve only been on ESPN four times in three months,” Barkley said. “We did the first two weeks. We were off all of December until Christmas, and we’re off all of January until the 24th. I don’t like that at all. “What I was talking about working all the time, I’m not going to do all these damn shows. I’m not going to be on ESPN 1, 2, 3, Deportes, Nacho, Echo, whatever they call it. I’m not going to be doing all that. But I wish we’d have been on more during the first half of the season.”
Dave McMenamin: JJ Redick says Austin Reaves is “progressing well” and will return to the lineup sometime during the Lakers’ 8-game road trip. Some good news for the Lakers, who have been without Reaves because of a left calf strain since Christmas.
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The NBA is beginning 2026 with viewership up 18% from the same period last season, as added games on broadcast TV — and fewer on cable — plus another strong Christmas have helped boost gains in Year 1 of a new media deal. Games across ABC/ESPN, NBC and Prime Video have averaged 2.02 million viewers to date, up over what ABC/ESPN and TNT/truTV had at the start of 2025. That average goes closer to 1.8 million if one were to include the nonexclusive games airing on NBA TV.
The NBA is beginning 2026 with viewership up 18% from the same period last season, as added games on broadcast TV — and fewer on cable — plus another strong Christmas have helped boost gains in Year 1 of a new media deal. Games across ABC/ESPN, NBC and Prime Video have averaged 2.02 million viewers to date, up over what ABC/ESPN and TNT/truTV had at the start of 2025. That average goes closer to 1.8 million if one were to include the nonexclusive games airing on NBA TV. Looking at regional delivery of games, 17 of 29 teams in the U.S. are seeing season-over-season gains thus far. Many of those teams are currently in business with Main Street Sports Group, which missed RSN payments to a number of those franchises recently.
ESPN has had one of its most-viewed starts to the NBA regular season since it started to carry games in 2002. According to the network and Nielsen, ESPN averaged 2.6 million viewers in its first 21 games through Christmas, a 35% increase from last season and the second-most-watched in a full season. The numbers for this season trail only 2010-11.
ESPN's NBA studio shows have also experienced increased viewership. "Inside the NBA" is averaging 1.2 million in its first season on ESPN, up 135% compared to last year's regular-season average on TNT. The Christmas Day edition averaged 5.1 million, the show's most-watched regular season audience. "NBA Today," ESPN's weekday studio show, is averaging 361,000, a 26% increase from this time last year.