The Biggest Takeaway From the 2026–27 NBA Schedule Release

1. This is the last Traina Thoughts, which we started in 2017. More on that below. Since this is my final piece for Sports Illustrated, I figured it would make sense to do what I’ve done over and over and over and over in this space in recent years: Complain about streaming.

This isn’t necessarily a complaint as much as a warning and an observation (with complaining mixed in).

The NBA released its 2026–27 schedule yesterday, including the full slate of national broadcasts on NBC/Peacock, ESPN/ABC and Prime Video.

The most significant piece of information, at least to me, is that the Eastern Conference finals this season will air exclusively on Prime Video.

ESPN/ABC will air the Western Conference finals. NBC is shut out of the conference finals this season.

The good news here is that Ian Eagle will be on the call. The bad news here is that the Eastern Conference finals are going to air on a streaming service.

The NFL has had playoff games on streaming, so I won’t say this Eastern Conference finals will be the biggest sports ever to air on streaming exclusively, but it’s probably the second biggest.

This past season’s Eastern Conference finals between the Cavaliers and Knicks aired on ESPN/ABC and averaged 7.4 million viewers. It will be fascinating to see if Prime Video can get close to that number. Especially when sports won’t be enjoying the year-over-year ratings bump they all got in 2026 thanks to the change in Nielsen’s measurement system.

2. Other notes from the NBA’s schedule release.

The Knicks, Spurs and Lakers will each play in the maximum number of national games allowed: 34
Via SportsMediaWatch: Starting Feb. 7, NBC’s Sunday night window will feature doubleheaders. There were only three Sunday night doubleheaders on NBC last season.
Because broadcast is still king when it comes to sports ratings, NBC and ABC will air 11 more games than they did last season.

NBC and ABC adding another 11 games to their broadcast schedules. As I wrote last year, this keeps squeezing Hollywood, which will have fewer opportunities for original entertainment, and fewer residuals due to less reruns. https://t.co/YD2yMMJFYk
— Alex Weprin (@alexweprin) August 13, 2026

3. I think baseball fans will really enjoy this very cool graphic.

Kyle Schwarber's leadoff homer at the Field of Dreams Game was the first home run ever in an MLB game televised on Netflix, making him a member of a select group of players who were the first to hit a big-league homer on a national MLB TV network/platform. pic.twitter.com/SWAaPUpMko
— Sports TV News & Updates (@TVSportsUpdates) August 14, 2026

4. Raiders rookie quarterback Francisco Mendoza dropped one hell of a quote to The Athletic about the Vegas strip:

“I’ve been there once or twice, but I haven’t really experienced the Strip. It’s like a boogeyman. A lot of people talk about the Strip like, ‘You don’t want to go there.’ It’s like when you’re a kid; you’re trick-or-treating, and there’s the haunted house. You’re not trying to go over there.”

5. This is as wild an MLB stat as you’ll ever see.

Cal Raleigh in 2025:
60 HRs

Cal Raleigh in 2026:
51 Hits pic.twitter.com/g4o7zy3x7i
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) August 13, 2026

6. As some of you know, this is my final column for SI.com.

Some sports media news. pic.twitter.com/O28MtXm506
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) August 12, 2026

Obviously, there are a lot of emotions here. But if I’m being 100% honest, the biggest emotion at the moment is relief. It's relief for one reason and one reason only: I have been writing a DAILY column since 2007. While it was a privilege to be able to have that outlet, I just couldn’t do it any longer. It’s ridiculous to write every single weekday for 19 years. Just ridiculous. No one should have that much to say.

It started with Hot Clicks in 2007. It continued with Traina Thoughts in 2017. Some of you have been with me since beginning, which just blows my mind away.

Part of me gets that loyalty. I still listen to Howard Stern and people on social media love to give me crap for him. I’ve been listening to Howard since I was in college. I listen to Chris “Mad Dog” Russo every day. I’ve been listening to him since high school. So, I understand being loyal to people who provide content and entertainment. But it’s still hard for me to comprehend how many of you have been reading my work for years.

There has not been one day where I took that loyalty for granted. It has always been appreciated.

And I need to give a massive shout-out to those of you who also listen to SI Media With Jimmy Traina in addition to reading the column. I’ve been overwhelmed hearing from everybody this week after announcing my departure from Sports Illustrated.

I don’t want to start listing a bunch of names here of people that I have to thank because it will go on and on and on and then I will leave someone out and I’ll feel like crap. I did that on this week’s podcast, and as soon as I was done recording, I realized I left out some important people who I should’ve acknowledged.

I’ve had some very supportive bosses over the years. I’ve had some great editors. And a slew of amazing co-workers. I started at Sports Illustrated in 2000. I’m leaving in 2026. You don’t work for a company for that long if it wasn’t anything but a wonderful experience. I will be grateful to SI until the end of time.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: This was probably my favorite video that I ever posted back during the Hot Clicks era 18 years ago. Based on reaction I got, it was probably the most popular video I ever posted. It still cracks me up today.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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