NBA Schedule Announcement
The NBA Schedule for the 2025 season was released on August 14, and we can expect similar timing in 2026. See below for NBA tickets, top matchups and other schedule information for the 2026-27 NBA season.
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The 2025-26 NBA season is nearly complete, and the 2026-27 NBA season is fast approaching, with the season tipping off in October.
The league is slated to return in mid-to-late October 2026.
The 2025-26 NBA schedule was released in mid-August for the fifth year in a row. In the late 2000s, the NBA schedule release date was in the first week of August, before moving to Aug. 10 in 2010. The following year, the league moved up the schedule announcement date to July 19, the earliest it's been in the last decade-plus.
Once the full schedule is released, the date that NBA tickets go on sale will also be released.
NBA Schedule Release Date 2026-27 and Historical Dates
2026-2027: Aug. 13, 2026 (Anticipated)
2025-2026: Aug. 14, 2025
2024-2025: Aug. 15, 2024
2023-2024: Aug. 17, 2023
2022-2023: Aug. 17, 2022
2021-2022: Aug. 20, 2021
2020-2021: Dec. 4, 2020
2019-2020: Aug. 13, 2019
2018-2019: Aug. 10, 2018
2017-2018: Aug. 14, 2017
2016-2017: Aug. 11, 2016
2015-2016: Aug. 12, 2015
2014-2015: Aug. 13, 2014
2013-2014: Aug. 6, 2013
2012-2013: July 26, 2012
2011-2012: July 19, 2011
2010-2011: Aug. 10, 2010
2009-2010: Aug. 4, 2009
2008-2009: Aug. 6, 2008
When is the 2026 NBA Draft?
The 2026 NBA draft will run from June 23 to June 24 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Washington Wizards have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. AJ Dybantsa from BYU is widely expected to go first overall in the draft.
Where Will the 2027 NBA All-Star Game Take Place?
The 2027 NBA All-Star Weekend will take place from February 19-21, 2027 at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA continue to try different formats to help make the All-Star Game more entertaining. In 2026, the NBA All-Star Game consisted of three teams competing in a total of four games, including the championship game. The move was inspired by the success of the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025.
Election Day Games / Civic Engagement Night
Observing Election Day with a clear schedule is a tradition that the NBA plans to continue every two years to allow employees, including league staff, team workers and coaches and players, to exercise their right to vote in midterm and presidential elections.
In 2024, as Americans headed to the polls to cast their ballots in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the NBA did not hold any games on Nov. 5. All 30 NBA teams played the day before Election Day (Nov. 4).
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Games
The NBA has scheduled games on Martin Luther King Jr. Day since it became a holiday in 1986. The league will continue its long-standing tradition to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day during the 2026-27 NBA season. The celebration usually includes four nationally televised games.
NBA 2026-27 Opening Night
The 2026-27 NBA season will begin in mid-to-late October. The league traditionally uses the first game of the season to celebrate the previous season's champions with a banner unveiling and ring ceremony.
In 2025, the regular season tipped off with a doubleheader on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
NBA Christmas Day Schedule for 2026
NBA games on Christmas Day have been a part of the league since the inaugural season in 1946-47. The NBA usually plays around five games on Christmas Day. Once the league releases the 2026 NBA Christmas Day schedule, Vivid Seats will have the full details and tickets.
NBA International Schedule
The NBA will go international during the 2027 and 2028 seasons with several regular-season games scheduled to be played in Berlin, London, Manchester and Paris.
Teams have not been announced for the 2027 and 2028 international games, but those sites are set for Manchester and Paris in 2027, and Berlin and Paris for 2028. The games are slated for Uber Arena (Berlin), The O2 (London), Co-op Live (Manchester) and the Accor Arena (Paris).
Additionally, a new basketball league is coming to Europe. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the NBA is on track for its European subsidiary to launch next year and will soon stop accepting bids from interested teams.
It has previously been reported the NBA is targeting the cities of Rome and Milan in Italy, London and Manchester in England, Paris and Lyon in France, Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, and Munich and Berlin in Germany, as well as Athens in Greece and Istanbul in Turkey.
Top 2026-27 NBA Games
- Rockets vs. Thunder
- Spurs vs. Nuggets
- Warriors vs. Spurs
- Nuggets vs. Lakers
- Cavs vs. Knicks
- Nuggets vs. Thunder
- Wolves vs. Nuggets
- Knicks vs. Spurs
- Lakers vs. Celtics
- Lakers vs. Warriors
NBA 2026-27 Schedule Key Dates and Games
- June 23-24: 2026 NBA Draft
- June 30: Each NBA team may begin negotiating with all other upcoming free agents
- July 6: Each NBA team may begin signing free agents to contracts
- July 3-6: California Classic Summer League
- July 4, 6-7: Salt Lake City Summer League
- July 9-19: Las Vegas Summer League
- Oct. 9 & 11: NBA China Games 2026 - Dallas Mavericks vs. Houston Rockets (The Venetian Arena)
- Mid-October: Regular Season Opening Night
- Nov. 7: NBA Mexico City Game - Denver Nuggets vs. Indiana Pacers (Arena CDMX)
- Dec. 25: Christmas Day Games
- Jan. 14, 2027: NBA Paris Game - San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans (Accor Arena)
- Jan. 17: NBA Manchester Game - San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans (Co-op Live)
- Jan. 18: NBA MLK Day Games
- Feb. 19-21: 2027 NBA All-Star Weekend (Phoenix, Arizona)
- April: NBA Regular Season Ends and NBA Playoffs Begin
Check Vivid Seats for full NBA 2026-2027 ticket information.
This post was last updated on June 4, 2026.