Ranking NBA Teams by Number of National TV Games in 2025-26 Season

Here's the number of national TV games each NBA team has in the 2025-26 season
LeBron James and Stephen Curry will lead the way on national TV this season
LeBron James and Stephen Curry will lead the way on national TV this season / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The NBA will look much different this year, at least in terms of its broadcast schedule. The league's new TV schedule will see national games continue on Disney properties like ESPN, with the addition of NBC and their Peacock streaming service, as well as Amazon Prime Video.

That's right, NBA on TNT is no longer. However, fans will still get their fix of Inside the NBA with Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley as the show now appears on ABC and ESPN.

The new NBA broadcast deal means fans will have more places to watch marquee games, and commissioner Adam Silver recently provided an interesting response to the rising cost of consuming game action. Nevertheless, the new deal and changing NBA landscape presents additional options for teams to play in front of a national audience, whether on cable or streaming.

With the 2025-26 season underway, let's take a look at who has the most nationally televised games (and those with the least) as a litmus test to see what the league thinks about your favorite team.

What NBA Team Has the Most National TV Games in the 2025–26 Season?

A number of squads are tied at the top with 34 national TV games. Fans will continue to get their fix of LeBron James and Steph Curry in the twilights of their careers as the Lakers and Warriors are at the top, although James is sidelined to begin the season due to sciatica on his right side.

The defending champion Thunder are rightfully at the top of the list as well, along with the Knicks who made a run to the Eastern Conference finals last year. The Rockets and Timberwolves are right below them with 28 national TV games apiece.

Ranking Each NBA Team by Number of National TV Games in 2025-26 Season

Each team has at least two nationally televised games with the Lakers, Warriors, Thunder and Knicks topping the chart with 34 national TV games apiece.

Some injuries appeared to impact the number of national TV games certain teams will play, specifically the Pacers who have just nine national broadcasts after the injury to Tyrese Haliburton in the NBA Finals and the departure of Myles Turner. You can even use this list to spot teams on the rise like the frisky Pistons who made the playoffs last year after a dreadful season the year before. This year, they'll have 16 nationally televised games compared to just four last season.

And if you're into even more interesting storylines, Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks have one more national TV game than Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. This comes after Dallas's draft lottery luck following their odd season where they traded Luka Dončić to the Lakers.

Without further ado, here is the number of national TV games that each NBA team will play in the 2025-26 season, ranked from most to least:

Rank

Team

Number of National TV Games

T1

New York Knicks

34

T1

Oklahoma City Thunder

34

T1

Los Angeles Lakers

34

T1

Golden State Warriors

34

T5

Houston Rockets

28

T5

Minnesota Timberwolves

28

7

Denver Nuggets

26

8

Boston Celtics

25

9

Cleveland Cavaliers

24

10

Dallas Mavericks

23

11

San Antonio Spurs

22

12

Los Angeles Clippers

21

13

Milwaukee Bucks

18

14

Detroit Pistons

16

T15

Philadelphia 76ers

14

T15

Orlando Magic

14

17

Atlanta Hawks

13

18

Memphis Grizzlies

10

T19

Phoenix Suns

9

T19

Indiana Pacers

9

T19

Sacramento Kings

9

22

Portland Trail Blazers

8

23

Miami Heat

5

T24

Charlotte Hornets

3

T24

Chicago Bulls

3

T26

Brooklyn Nets

2

T26

New Orleans Pelicans

2

T26

Washington Wizards

2

T26

Toronto Raptors

2

T26

Utah Jazz

2


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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.