Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Jan 19, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles against Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena.
Now that LeBron James has finally announced his decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers for the next two seasons, the NBA can move forward with building its 2026-27 season schedule.
The league had previously expressed its frustration with James for holding up scheduling with his indecision, which in turn led to him delaying the decision even longer.
Now, the NBA is set to release its full season schedule on Thursday. However, it delivered a teaser for fans on Tuesday by sharing the schedule for both opening day of the new season and Christmas Day.
The first four days of the 2026-27 NBA regular season will feature nine national games across NBC/Peacock, ESPN and Prime Video.
Fans can purchase tickets at https://t.co/kQADBA8FDD.
NBA Schedule Release presented by @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/0qep3dyAvw
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 11, 2026
New NBA Schedule Has Bizarre Quirk To Start The Season
The marquee matchup of the opening night, which takes place on Tuesday, Oct. 20, features James and the 76ers taking on the defending champion New York Knicks.
That game will be followed on NBC by a rematch of the 2026 Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
However, neither game is officially the season-opener for the NBA.
Instead, that distinction goes to the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons, who, for some reason, are scheduled to face off with one another at 3 p.m.
Nobody seems to understand the bizarre timing of the game, or the matchup.
“If you suggested 3 p.m. on a weekday for the first game of the season 20 years ago, David Stern would have had you killed & thrown in a river,” one fan wrote.
“The first game of the NBA season being an afternoon game is a choice and not a good one,” Kevin Gray of DLLS Sports wrote.
Why Is The Game At Such A Strange Time?
The Pistons and Celtics finished first and second in the Eastern Conference standings last season. So the matchup itself makes some sense.
However, the time slot is still a strange choice. And the NBA provided no definitive reasoning for the choice.
Given the success of midday TV ratings for the World Cup, it’s not entirely impossible to draw a large audience. But it doesn’t feel like a regular-season NBA game, especially one featuring a small-market team, is likely to have that sort of firepower.
But if the league wants to test out how midday games on weekdays go over with fans in the future, it has to start somewhere. Perhaps the ratings for this game turn out better than expected. If that’s the case, you can expect weekday NBA to become a regular thing in the future.