The Brooklyn Nets played on national television — not including NBA TV — just once last season, a [**loss**](/2025/1/21/24349125/nets-vs-knicks-mikal-bridges-cam-johnson-99-95) to the New York Knicks as Mikal Bridges made his unceremonious return to Barclays Center. It was quite the drop-off from the height of the Big Three era, when Brooklyn played on national television 26 times.
But the 2025-26 scheduled released on Thursday afternoon, and lo and behold! Brooklyn has not one but TWO games, both at home, on national TV: November 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves and January 16 against the Chicago Bulls. And that’s before we see what NBA TV has in store for a team sure to be tanking yet again this season. Call it the Egor Dëmin effect.
* As mentioned in the headline, Brooklyn will tip off its season down South, against the Charlotte Hornets at 7:00 p.m. ET. They will also finish the season on the road against the Toronto Raptors.
* Michael Porter Jr. heads back to Denver, his home for seven years, on January 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET. Egor Dëmin returns to the state of Utah, where he played for BYU and remains beloved by the fanbase, the very next day on January 30 at 9:30 p.m. ET.
* As for ex-Nets returning to Brooklyn, Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets come to town on New Year’s Day at 6:00 p.m. ET. Cam Johnson returns to Barclays Center three days later on January 4 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
* Kyrie Irving could be back from ACL repair when the Dallas Mavericks come to town on February 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET. But even if he’s not, Cooper Flagg will be worth the price of admission alone.
Aside from doubling their nationally televised games, you could argue the schedule-makers threw the Brooklyn Nets another bone with “only” 14 back-to-backs, one fewer than last season. With 12 teams having at least 15 of those things, the Nets can consider themselves lucky there.
Only, a dozen of those back-to-backs feature travel, with the two games in different cities. That’s absolutely brutal luck for Brooklyn (and traveling media), and will likely result in some schedule loss in which the uphill battle is too great to overcome. But I suppose that’s life in the NBA.
Thankfully, their longest road trip of the season is only five games, down from last year’s high of seven. Jordi Fernández’s team will face the Los Angeles Clippers on January 25, then the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, and ultimately the Detroit Pistons on February 1 before flying home.
Brooklyn’s longest home-stretch of the season is six games starting in March. (Which is a crazy month where they’ll play 17 times! Might be a good chance for Nets fans to get a look at all five rookies and some other young players.) Those six games occur from the 29th to April 9th, starting with the Sacramento Kings followed by five Eastern Conference teams.
Big Barclays drawsSeason-ticket holders might want to reap a profit on the following games.
* The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder visit on March 18.
* Lebron James, Luka Dončić, and the Los Angeles Lakers visit on February 3.
* Steph Curry and the Warriors visit on December 29. You might remember what happened last time…
* Of course, Brooklyn plays the dreaded New York Knicks four times this season, like every other season. At the Garden on November 9 and January 21, at Barclays on November 24 and March 20.
Eagle-eyed fans will notice that there are only 80 games scheduled for Brooklyn, with a big gap between games on December 6 and the December 18. That’s due to the In-Season Tournament, and if the Nets don’t make the knockout round, they’ll get two games added in the timeframe.
As for the group stage, they take on:
* the Detroit Pistons at home on November 7
* the Orlando Magic on the road on November 14
* the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on November 21
* the Philadelphia 76ers at home on November 28
All games occur on a Friday.
_Really_ eagle-eyed fans will notice that Cam Thomas is not on the Brooklyn Nets’ promotional graphic for the schedule release…
This is merely procedural, as Thomas sits in restricted free agency, not under contract with Brooklyn despite the still-likely chance of him suiting up for the Nets next season.
Below is Brooklyn’s promotional video, a nice ode to the basketball culture in the borough…
There it is, folks. Make your plans, set your calendars. We are but seven weeks away from the start of preseason ball as well, and that schedule has already been released. Before heading to Macao for two games against the Phoenix Suns, the Nets host Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. on October 4, their only home preseason game.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.
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