As the 2025-26 NBA season approaches, NBC is preparing to make its return as a league partner.
And on Tuesday, the network made a series of announcements connected to its upcoming coverage, including Peacock’s debut doubleheader, a Martin Luther King Jr. Day quadrupleheader and the launch of its Sunday Night Basketball program.
First, the NBA will officially return to NBC airwaves when the network hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder’s season opener against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, Oct. 21, with Mike Tirico, Reggie Miller, Jamal Crawford and sideline reporter Zora Stephenson on the call. Following the matchup — which will be preceded by the Thunder raising their championship banner — the Los Angeles Lakers will host the Golden State Warriors, with Noah Eagle, Grant Hill and reporter Ashley ShahAhmadi calling the second part of the doubleheader.
Six days later, Peacock will host its debut doubleheader, with the Detroit Pistons hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Minnesota Timberwolves hosting the Denver Nuggets. Known as Peacock NBA Monday, the streamer will host up to three national games each Monday throughout the season, with the network also announcing a day-long Martin Luther King Jr. Day quadrupleheader featuring the following matchups:
1:00 p.m. ET Milwaukee Bucks at Atlanta Hawks (Peacock exclusive)
2:30 p.m. ET Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland Cavaliers (NBC/Peacock)
5:00 p.m. ET Dallas Mavericks at New York Knicks (NBC/Peacock)
8:00 p.m. ET Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons (NBC/Peacock)
Game on. 🎮 NBA Tip-Off, October 21st on NBC and Peacock. pic.twitter.com/AALohb2D0a
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) August 12, 2025
While the rest of NBC’s full NBA schedule has yet to be announced, we also now know that the Sunday Night Basketball studio show will debut on Feb. 1, 2026. The program will pause on Feb. 8 and 15 due to NBC Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl LX, the NBA All-Star Game and the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics before resuming on Feb. 22 and running through April 5.
At this point, only a fraction of the 2025-26 NBA schedule has been revealed via the NFL-like rollout. But even with just a few key dates known, it seems clear that NBA will be well positioned as one of the league’s premier partners for at least the next 11 years.