RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The first crumbs of the 2026-27 NBA schedule have been revealed.
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, the league announced its nationally televised slate for opening week and Christmas Day , two of the marquee events on the calendar.
The announcement brought some joy and anticipation for hoops fans at a time when the NBA news cycle is in a lull. And, as expected, a few teams were prominently featured: the Philadelphia 76ers , with their additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown ; the New York Knicks, fresh off their first championship in 53 years , and the Western Conference rivals San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder .
To be clear: none of the matchups unveiled are truly bad, but here’s a ranking of the nationally televised opening week games, from worst to first:
NBA OPENING NIGHT: Tripleheader features LeBron James, 76ers vs champion Knicks
NOTE : All times Eastern
9. Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers
■ Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 10 p.m. | ESPN
This rivalry always felt a little forced, but now that LeBron James is with the 76ers, the whole James-Stephen Curry draw is no longer there. Another element that may take the juice out of this matchup is that Warriors forward Jimmy Butler may not be back from his torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in January .
8. Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers
■ Thursday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. | ESPN
This will be Philadelphia’s second game of the season, so fans will have already seen the new-look Sixers. And the Cavs are running it back, so we have a pretty good idea of what they’ll be. Still, this could be the eventual battle between teams vying for second place in the East (if not better), so it should be revelatory one way or another.
7. Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons
■ Tuesday Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. | NBC and Peacock
The problem here isn’t the matchup – it should be an intriguing game – it’s more about the time slot and the fact that this will be the first game to tip off the regular season. Typically, the defending champion is the team to get the first game of the year. Yet, the NBA is seemingly testing a late afternoon slot ahead of the primetime draw. Call me a traditionalist, but this feels like it steals some of the thunder from the Knicks raising a banner, and this very good matchup might get lost in the middle of the workday.
6. Houston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs
■ Friday, Oct. 23 at 9:30 p.m. | Prime Video
The Rockets underwhelmed last season, mostly because they could not find consistent play at point guard. Enter Fred Van Vleet, who is now healthy after the torn anterior cruciate ligament that robbed him of the entire season , and Houston could be significantly improved. As long as the Rockets have settled their internal tensions, they should compete. A test against the Spurs should be an excellent barometer.
5. Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder
■ Thursday, Oct. 22 at 9:30 p.m. | ESPN
Any time you get to see a matchup that features a pair of players – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić – who have combined to win five of the last six NBA Most Valuable Player awards, it’s appointment viewing. Adding that the Nuggets are looking to reset after a disappointing first-round exit and that the Thunder are looking to reclaim their status as a dominant force only makes it better.
4. New York Knicks at Boston Celtics
■ Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. | Prime Video
While the Celtics-Pistons opener will be the first chance for fans to see the effects of the Jaylen Brown-Paul George trade, this matchup – the home opener in Boston – may reveal whether these Celtics can truly compete with Jayson Tatum taking on even more responsibility. Plus, these are two of the iconic franchises with an intense regional rivalry, so it’s always a fun watch.
3. Minnesota Timberwolves at Miami Heat
■ Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
This one is ranked this highly mostly because of the novelty and the intrigue. This will be the first chance we get to see Giannis Antetokounmpo under coach Erik Spoelstra and the Heat. It’s also the first time we get to see the LaMelo Ball experiment in Minnesota with Anthony Edwards. Both these squads may not initially be ranked in the top tier of their respective conferences, but they have the potential to climb up the ladder. That starts with this game.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs
■ Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 9:30 p.m. | NBC and Peacock
This is probably the best rivalry in the NBA, and it’s pretty clear the teams each dislike each other. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs dominated this matchup last year, both in regular season and the playoffs. But the Thunder, even with a few losses, should be fully healthy. These are the two best teams in the West. Let’s see how the offseason impacted them.
1. Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks
■ Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 7:00 p.m. | NBC and Peacock
This is the crown jewel. You’ve got Jalen Brunson and the defending champion Knicks raising their first banner in Madison Square Garden in 53 years and receiving their rings, and you’ve got the new-look Sixers, who added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. Philadelphia won the offseason; this will be the first glimpse to see how it stacks up against the best team in the NBA.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranking all the NBA opening week national TV games from worst to first
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