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The NBA will increase its broadcast TV presence during the 2026-27 regular-season, with ABC and NBC combining for 90 games, up from 79 last season. In total, there will be 247 national games across ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock and Prime Video, even with last year and up from 172 two seasons ago. The league already rolled out its first opening day national tripleheader on NBC Sports, with streaming on Peacock, as well as its five-game Christmas Day slate on ABC/ESPN.
On Jan. 30, the NBA for the first time -- excluding Christmas Day -- will have four games on broadcast TV in a given day, as ABC has a quadrupleheader with 76ers-Heat (12:30pm ET), Nuggets-Thunder (3pm), Spurs-Warriors (5:30pm) and Lakers-Knicks (8:30pm).
Heat Central: Giannis Antetokounmpo says the Heat are going to win on Christmas Day and he’s going to put on a show 👀 “That’s going to be fun. I haven’t played on Christmas for a while now, NBA. C’mon now. I’m just excited to give fans a little excitement. I also enjoy being at home with my kids during Christmas but there’s nothing better than a little kid opening his gift and then turning on the TV watching NBA games. I’m exited for that and gonna put on a show. I’m going to get a win too”
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."
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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).
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.
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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.