NBA Schedule 2025-26: Key Dates & Deadlines to Know This Season
Basketball season is officially here with a thrilling double-overtime win by the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to tip off the 2025-26 NBA season. We're breaking down the NBA schedule and key dates for the entire season - including the in-season tournament, All-Star Game, trade deadline, playoffs, NBA Finals, and more.
🗓️ NBA schedule 2025–26: Key dates, deadlines & TV info
Here's an updated look at the full NBA schedule and key dates for the 2025-26 season. We'll update this table with official NBA announcements throughout the season.
| Date | Event | TV |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 21 | NBA Opening Night | NBC/Peacock |
| Oct. 31 - Nov. 28 | NBA Cup group play | Prime Video |
| Nov. 1 | NBA Mexico City (Pistons vs. Mavericks) | Peacock |
| Dec. 9-10 | NBA Cup quarterfinals (knockouts) | Prime Video |
| Dec. 13 | NBA Cup semifinals | Prime Video |
| Dec. 16 | NBA Cup championship | Prime Video |
| Dec. 25 | Christmas Day games | ABC/ESPN |
| Jan. 5 | 10-day contracts allowed | - |
| Jan. 10 | All contracts guaranteed | - |
| Jan. 15 | NBA Berlin (Magic vs. Grizzles) | Prime Video |
| Jan. 18 | NBA London (Magic vs. Grizzlies) | Prime Video |
| Jan. 19 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day games | NBC/Peacock |
| Jan. 20-24 | NBA Rivals Week | ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, Prime Video |
| Feb. 5 (3 p.m. ET) | NBA trade deadline | - |
| Feb. 13-15 | NBA All-Star Weekend | NBC |
| April 12 | NBA regular season ends | TBD |
| April 14-17 | NBA Play-In Tournament | Prime Video |
| April 18 | NBA Playoffs begin | ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, Prime Video |
| June 4 | NBA Finals begin | ABC |
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🏀 When does the NBA season start 2025-26?
Follow all of our NBA picks and track the latest NBA odds for every game.
The defending champion Thunder beat the Rockets on Tuesday, Oct. 21 in the first game of the 2025-26 season, while the Warriors and Lakers capped off the NBA Opening Night doubleheader. Another 24 teams open their season on Wednesday, Oct. 22, while the Nuggets and Pacers make their season debuts on Thursday, Oct. 23.
🏆 When is the NBA In-Season Tournament? NBA Cup schedule
The NBA Cup, also known as the in-season tournament, returns for a third season and begins on Friday, Oct. 31 on Halloween night with group play. Teams will face off in group play again on Nov. 7 (Friday), Nov. 14 (Friday), Nov. 21 (Friday), and Nov. 25-28 (Tuesday-Friday).
The knockout rounds (quarterfinals) take place on Tuesday, Dec. 9 and Wednesday, Dec. 10 before the semifinals on Saturday, Dec. 13 and the NBA Cup championship on Tuesday, Dec. 16. The winners receive more than $500,000 each in prize money, but the championship has no extra impact on playoff seeding.
🎄 What are the NBA Christmas games?
The annual NBA Christmas Day tradition continues this year on Thursday, Dec. 25 with five nationally televised matchups throughout the day. Here's a look at all five holiday matchups this season, which are all broadcast on ABC/ESPN:
- Cavaliers at Knicks (noon ET)
- Spurs at Thunder (2:30 p.m. ET)
- Mavericks at Warriors (5 p.m. ET)
- Rockets at Lakers (8 p.m. ET)
- Timberwolves at Nuggets (10:30 p.m. ET)
🆚 When is NBA Rivals Week?
NBA Rivals Week returns for a fourth season and begins Tuesday, Jan. 20 with 11 nationally televised games over five days - including four nightly doubleheaders and a tripleheader finale on Saturday, Jan. 24. Here's a look at the 11 matchups for the NBA's rivalry week along with TV info for every game:
- Jan. 20: Spurs at Rockets (8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock)
- Jan. 20: Lakers at Nuggets (10 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock)
- Jan. 21: Cavaliers at Hornets (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
- Jan. 21: Thunder at Bucks (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
- Jan. 22: Warriors at Mavericks (7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
- Jan. 22: Lakers at Clippers (10 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
- Jan. 23: Rockets at Pistons (7 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
- Jan. 23: Pacers at Thunder (9:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
- Jan. 24: Knicks at Sixers (3 p.m. ET, ABC)
- Jan. 24: Warriors at Timberwolves (5:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
- Jan. 24: Lakers at Mavericks (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
🔁 When is the NBA trade deadline?
The 2026 NBA trade deadline is set for Thursday, Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. ET. Teams will often increase their trade activity in the two weeks before the deadline and especially the final 24-48 hours. The trade deadline marks the final opportunity for teams to acquire players via trade, though they can still sign players via free agency and the buyout market.
🎉 When is NBA All-Star Weekend 2026?
NBA All-Star Weekend 2026 will take place in Los Angeles beginning on Friday, Feb. 13 with early contests and festivities before the NBA 3-Point Contest and NBA Dunk Contest on Saturday, Feb. 14 and the 2026 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 15.
📈 When is the NBA Play-In Tournament 2026?
The 2025-26 NBA Play-In Tournament features six matchups with the first four taking place on will start on Tuesday, April 14 and Wednesday, April 15. The No. 7 vs. No. 8 seeds and No. 9 vs. No. 10 seeds in each conference will face off in those initial matchups, and the winners will face off two days later for the final playoff spot.
🔥 When do the NBA playoffs start?
The 2025-26 NBA playoffs will start on Saturday, April 18, after the conclusion of the NBA Play-In Tournament. The first round will start that weekend with second round and conference finals starting soon after matchups are confirmed.
🏆 When are the NBA Finals 2026?
The 2026 NBA Finals begin on Thursday, June 4, 2026, with the location determined by the higher seed in the NBA championship series. The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers in last year's NBA Finals matchup, and OKC entered this season as the betting favorite to repeat as NBA champion. The NBA Finals will be televised on ABC.
Stay ahead of the title race all season long with our breakdown of the NBA championship odds and the rest of our NBA futures analysis, including the NBA MVP odds and other awards markets.
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