When the ball goes up
NBA home teams usually schedule games for early evening in their own city, mostly 7:00 or 7:30 PM. Spread over four US time zones, that turns a weeknight into a rolling start: the eastern arenas go first, and the Pacific teams go last, close to 10:00 PM ET. Weekend afternoons and Christmas Day add earlier games. We convert every one to the time zone set on your device.
Expect a short wait after the listed time. The broadcast opens with introductions, so the opening tip tends to come a little after the hour or half hour.
The NBA calendar
- October: preseason, then opening week.
- November: NBA Cup group games are mixed into the normal schedule.
- December: Cup knockout games, with the final rounds in Las Vegas, then the Christmas slate.
- April: the regular season ends after 82 games per team, and the play-in settles the last two playoff seeds in each conference.
- April to June: four rounds, each a best-of-seven, ending with the Finals.
Playoff dates are often confirmed late, since nobody knows how long a series will go. They appear here once the league fixes them.
National, regional and League Pass
National US games are shared by ESPN and ABC, NBC and Peacock, and Prime Video, while NBA TV picks up extra nights. A game with no national partner goes out on each team's regional network or team app, only inside its home area. NBA League Pass serves fans outside that area, minus national games and local blackouts.
For the official route: an antenna gets ABC for free, Peacock and Prime Video each need their own subscription, and ESPN and NBA TV come with cable or with streaming TV bundles like YouTube TV. For a team in your own area, see whether its regional network sells a direct plan; several do now.
Since home and away broadcasts run side by side, one game page can show two links with different announcers. Use either one. We trust the top one most.
WNBA season
From May into October the WNBA fills this page, with its games grouped under the league name, so summer nights are not empty while the NBA is off.
Using the list
Three days are listed: yesterday, today and tomorrow. Live games rise to the head of that day with the score, and finished games keep the final for a while. Most links are posted about an hour before tip-off. Our NBA viewing guide and the buffering checklist help when a stream misbehaves.
