Following the departure of Jimmy Butler and two consecutive first-round playoff exits, the Miami Heat is apparently no longer a national draw.
On Thursday afternoon, the NBA released the 2025-26 regular-season schedule that includes 80 (40 home and 40 away) of the 82 games for each team because two games from Dec. 9 to Dec. 15 remain up in the air until the group stage of the league’s in-season tournament plays out.
The Heat will open this upcoming season on the road against the Magic in Orlando on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. It marks the sixth time in the past 10 seasons that the Heat has opened the schedule against the Magic, with five of those games coming in Orlando. For perspective, the last time the Heat opened a season on the road and the game wasn’t in Orlando came in the 2011-12 season when it faced the Mavericks in Dallas on Dec. 25, 2011.
But like many of the games on the Heat’s schedule, this season’s opener against the Magic won’t be on national TV.
Just two years after being slotted for 16 national TV appearances for the 2023-24 regular season at the time that schedule was released, the Heat is currently scheduled for just five national TV games this upcoming season.
While that number could change during the course of the season, the Heat’s five national TV appearances this season consists of two games on Amazon Prime Video’s streaming service (Nov. 14 at New York Knicks and Feb. 28 vs. Houston Rockets), one game on ESPN (Nov. 19 vs. Golden State Warriors), one game on NBC (Jan. 6 at Minnesota Timberwolves) and one game on NBC’s streaming partner Peacock (March 30 vs. Philadelphia 76ers).
The NBA TV schedule will be announced at a later date.
In comparison, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Warriors and Knicks are each scheduled to have 34 of their games on national TV.
Amazon Prime Video and NBC are the new rights holders in the NBA’s move away from TNT Sports, which is no longer televising NBA games. This upcoming season is the first of an 11-year, $76 billion national television/streaming contract for the NBA, with Amazon Prime Video hiring Heat legends Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade as analysts.
Another aspect of the Heat’s schedule that stands out is the challenging stretch it will face to begin the season.
Not only will the Heat play six of its first eight games on the road and embark on a West Coast trip during the second week of the regular season, but 11 of the Heat’s first 15 games come against opponents that made the playoffs last season.
But the Heat’s longest trip of the season won’t come until January, when Miami hits the road for five straight games (Jan. 19 at Warriors, Jan. 20 at Sacramento Kings, Jan. 22 at Portland Trail Blazers, Jan. 24 at Utah Jazz and Jan. 25 at Phoenix Suns).
The longest homestand for the Heat this upcoming season lasts four games, as Miami has four four-game homestands on its schedule. Two of the Heat’s four-game homestands will come in the first six weeks of the season.
The Heat’s All-Star break will span from Feb. 12 to Feb. 19, with the 2026 NBA All-Star Game set for Feb. 15 at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
The Heat’s regular season comes to an end with an April 12 matchup against the Atlanta Hawks at Kaseya Center.
The Heat is scheduled to hold its annual media day on Sept. 29 before opening training camp on Sept. 30 to kick off the 2025-26 season. The Heat will then play a six-game preseason schedule: Oct. 4 vs. Magic in Puerto Rico, Oct. 6 vs. Milwaukee Bucks in Miami, Oct. 8 vs. San Antonio Spurs in Miami, Oct. 12 vs. Magic in Orlando, Oct. 13 vs. Hawks in Atlanta and Oct. 17 vs. Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis. FanDuel Sports Network Sun is currently set to locally televise 76 of the 80 Heat regular-season games that were announced on Thursday. The only four games set to be exclusively broadcast on national TV are Nov. 14 at Knicks on Prime, Jan. 6 at Timberwolves on NBC, Feb. 28 vs. Rockets on Prime and March 30 vs. 76ers on Peacock.
Here are some other things to know about the Heat’s 2025-26 schedule:
The Heat will see a familiar face in Duncan Robinson early in the season. Robinson left the Heat to sign with the Detroit Pistons in free agency this summer after spending the first seven seasons of his NBA career in Miami. The Heat’s first matchup of the season against Robinson and the Pistons comes on Nov. 29 in Miami.
The Heat will again welcome back Butler to Miami when it hosts the Warriors on Nov. 19 in a nationally televised game on ESPN. Butler has already played one game in Miami since being traded to the Warriors this past February following his contentious breakup with the Heat, getting blown out by the Heat 112-86 in his return to Kaseya Center on March 25.
The Heat faces the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder this season on Jan. 11 in Oklahoma City and on Jan. 17 in Miami.
The Heat has 15 back-to-back sets on its schedule this season, which is the same amount of back-to-backs that Miami played last regular season. But three of the Heat’s back-to-backs this season require no travel, as Miami faces the Lakers on Nov. 2 and the Clippers on Nov. 3 in Los Angeles, hosts the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 7 and the Trail Blazers on Nov. 8 at Kaseya Center, and hosts the Timberwolves on Jan. 3 and the New Orleans Pelicans on Jan. 4 at Kaseya Center.
The six Eastern Conference teams that the Heat is currently scheduled to face only three times this regular season are the Brooklyn Nets, the Pistons, the Indiana Pacers, the Bucks, the 76ers and the Toronto Raptors. The Heat hosts the Pacers, 76ers and Raptors only once and makes just one trip to face the Nets, Pistons and Bucks. The Heat faces every other East team four times — for two home games and two road games. The Heat plays every Western Conference team twice — for one home game and one road game.
The Heat will be working on some holidays. While the Heat doesn’t have a game on Halloween, Christmas Day or Easter this season, it will take on the Pistons in Detroit on New Year’s Day on Jan. 1 and face the Warriors in San Francisco on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19. The Heat will also play on Super Bowl Sunday, traveling to face the Washington Wizards on the afternoon of Feb. 8.
As part of the NBA’s in-season tournament, the Heat’s four group play games that will also count as regular-season games are Nov. 7 vs. Hornets, Nov. 14 at Knicks, Nov. 21 at Bulls and Nov. 26 vs. Bucks.
As for conflicts with the Miami Dolphins on the Heat’s regular-season schedule, the Heat and Miami Dolphins are currently set to play on the same day three times: Oct. 26 when the Heat hosts the Knicks and the Dolphins are in Atlanta to face the Falcons, Oct. 30 when the Heat is in San Antonio to play the Spurs and the Dolphins host the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football, and Dec. 21 when the Heat is in New York to take on the Knicks and the Dolphins host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football.
The Heat’s regular-season schedule currently has two conflicts with Miami Hurricanes football games: Nov. 8 when the Heat hosts the Trail Blazers and the Hurricanes host the Syracuse Orange, and Nov. 29 when the Heat hosts the Pistons and the Hurricanes close their regular season on the road against the Pittsburgh Panthers.
The Heat will play on the night of the 2026 College Football National Championship game (Jan. 19), which will take place in Miami on Jan. 19. The Heat will be in San Francisco to face the Warriors.
The Heat and Florida Panthers play on the same day 32 times this upcoming season (seven more than last season).
HEAT 2025-26 SCHEDULE
(All times Eastern)
October
Wed. Oct. 22 at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Fri. Oct. 24 at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Sun. Oct. 26 vs. New York, 6 p.m.
Tue. Oct. 28 vs. Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.
Thu. Oct. 30 at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
November
Sun. Nov. 2 at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.
Mon. Nov. 3 at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Wed. Nov. 5 at Denver, 9 p.m.
Fri. Nov. 7 vs. Charlotte, 8 p.m.
Sat. Nov. 8 vs. Portland, 8 p.m.
Mon. Nov. 10 vs. Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. Nov. 12 vs. Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Nov. 14 at New York, 7 p.m. (Prime)
Mon. Nov. 17 vs. New York, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. Nov. 19 vs. Golden State, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Fri. Nov. 21 at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Sun. Nov. 23 at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Mon. Nov. 24 vs. Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. Nov. 26 vs. Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. Nov. 29 vs. Detroit, 8 p.m.
December
Mon. Dec. 1 vs. L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. Dec. 3 at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Fri. Dec. 5 at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Sat. Dec. 6 vs. Sacramento, 8 p.m.
(Dec. 9, 10, 13, 16: Emirates NBA Cup Knockout Rounds*)
(Dec. 11, 12, 14, 15: Regular Season Games**)
Thu. Dec. 18 at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Dec. 19 at Boston, 7 p.m.
Sun. Dec. 21 at New York, 6 p.m.
Tue. Dec. 23 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Dec. 26 at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Sat. Dec. 27 vs. Indiana, 8 p.m.
Mon. Dec. 29 vs. Denver, 7:30 p.m.
January
Thu. Jan. 1 at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 3 vs. Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Sun. Jan. 4 vs. New Orleans, 6 p.m.
Tue. Jan. 6 at Minnesota, 8 p.m. (NBC)
Thu. Jan. 8 at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 10 at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Sun. Jan. 11 at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Tue. Jan. 13 vs. Phoenix, 7:30 p.m.
Thu. Jan. 15 vs. Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 17 vs. Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Mon. Jan. 19 at Golden State, 10 p.m.
Tue. Jan. 20 at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Thu. Jan. 22 at Portland, 10 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 24 at Utah, 9:30 p.m.
Sun. Jan. 25 at Phoenix, 8 p.m.
Wed. Jan. 28 vs. Orlando, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Jan. 30 vs. Chicago, 8 p.m.
February
Sun. Feb. 1 vs. Chicago, 6 p.m.
Tue. Feb. 3 vs. Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Feb. 6 at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Sun. Feb. 8 at Washington, 2 p.m.
Mon. Feb. 9 vs. Utah, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. Feb. 11 at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
(Feb. 12-19: All-Star break)
Fri. Feb. 20 at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 21 vs. Memphis, 8 p.m.
Tue. Feb. 24 at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Thu. Feb. 26 at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 28 vs. Houston, 3 p.m. (Prime)
March
Tue. March 3 vs. Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
Thu. March 5 vs. Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. March 6 at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Sun. March 8 vs. Detroit, 6 p.m.
Tue. March 10 vs. Washington, 7:30 p.m.
Thu. March 12 vs. Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. March 14 vs. Orlando, 8 p.m.
Tue. March 17 at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Thu. March 19 vs. L.A. Lakers, 8 p.m.
Sat. March 21 at Houston, 8 p.m.
Mon. March 23 vs. San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. March 25 at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. March 27 at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Sun. March 29 at Indiana, 5 p.m.
Mon. March 30 vs. Philadelphia, 7 p.m. (Peacock)
April
Wed. April 1 vs. Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. April 4 vs. Washington, 3 p.m.
Tue. April 7 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Thu. April 9 at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Fri. April 10 at Washington, 7 p.m.
Sun. April 12 vs. Atlanta, 6 p.m.
* – Quarterfinals of the in-season tournament will be played on home court of higher seed. Semifinals and championship to be played in Las Vegas.
** – Teams that do not qualify for knockout rounds of the in-season tournament will have one home game and one road game added during this stretch.