The NBA doesn't consider the Magic a prime-time team

The NBA released their full 82-game schedule on Thursday, so we now have confirmation of the Orlando Magic's whereabouts for the 2026-27 season. They will open the season on Oct. 21 against the Atlanta Hawks, but will play seven of their next 10 away from Kia Center.

They have a relatively tough path to open the season. However, what's missing is that none of the Magic's first 12 or all but two of their first 65 will be nationally televised. Fortunately enough, there's a way that fans can watch Magic games for free, but it's unfortunate that they're moving back out of the national spotlight for the 2026-27 season.

Magic will play just eight nationally televised games in 2026-27:

Last year was one of the most highly anticipated seasons in recent memory after acquiring Desmond Bane. It signaled that the organization was going for it.

Unfortunately, another inconsistent season offensively paired with myriad injuries resulted a 45-win roller coaster and a second-straight play-in berth. The Magic nearly upset the Detroit Pistons, but there was no cigar, blowing a 3-1 lead that led to Jamahl Mosley's dismissal.

Last season, the Magic were set to appear in 14 nationally televised games. This year, that's dwindled to eight, tied for the 11th-fewest in the NBA.

T-1. Sacramento Kings: 2
T-1. New Orleans Pelicans: 2
T-1 Milwaukee Bucks: 2
T-1: Memphis Grizzlies: 2
T-1: Brooklyn Nets: 2
6. Chicago Bulls: 3
T-7: Charlotte Hornets: 6
T-7: Washington Wizards: 6
T-7: Utah Jazz: 6
10. Toronto Raptors: 7
T-11. Orlando Magic: 8
T-11. Los Angeles Clippers: 8
13. Phoenix Suns: 9
14. Atlanta Hawks: 10

Who do Magic play on national television?:

Dec 5, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) drives to the basket past Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) in the third quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Of the eight, five will be on Peacock/NBC, with one on Amazon Prime and the remaining two on ESPN.

Their first nationally televised game will be on Peacock on Monday, Nov. 16 against the Boston Celtics. Last week, nearly half (6) of their aforementioned 14 were against the Atlanta Hawks or Cleveland Cavaliers.

That's not the case this season, even though all of them will be against Eastern Conference opponents:

Monday, Nov. 16: @ Boston Celtics (Peacock)
Monday, Dec. 14: vs. Philadelphia 76ers (Peacock)
Wednesday, March 10: @ Miami Heat (ESPN)
Saturday, March 13: @ Atlanta Hawks (Amazon Prime)
Monday, March 22: vs. Indiana Pacers (Peacock)
Sunday, March 28: vs. New York Knicks (ESPN)
Tuesday, March 30: vs. New York Knicks (NBC)
Monday, April 5: vs. Miami Heat (Peacock)

Magic have to prove they should be worth televising:

To some extent, how many times gets nationally televised isn't just about how good they are, but how popular their brand is globally. The Los Angeles Lakers are a good example; they might give up 130 points a night and aren't expected to be a top-4 team in the West, but they still have one of the NBA's best players in Luka Doncic, a global (super)star, with a remarkably popular brand that's existed since the 1960s.

Thus, they're always going to be under the national spotlight no matter how good they are -- or aren't. The same could be said about the Boston Celtics, who have 27 despite inexplicably offloading Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this summer.

The unfortunate reality is the Magic don't have that pull. Their brand is nowhere near those two; they're in two different galaxies.

But one reason why they secured over a dozen nationally televised games last season was their preseason expectations. They failed to exceed that and, as a result, have fallen below the radar in an improved East, led by the defending-champion New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, for better or worse.

At the end of the day, they're going to have to prove they belong. We saw glimpses of it last season -- but the consistently inconsistent Magic barfed down their shirt too many times. How do they respond under head coach Sean Sweeney? How healthy will they be? Can they get back on track on both ends of the floor?

Those are questions we'll be monitoring -- and it will dictate how much spotlight they will receive in the short term, and long-term.

Add us as a preferred source on Google