The Milwaukee Bucks' 2026-27 schedule is out: When does Giannis return?

The NBA released its full schedule for the 2026-27 regular season on Aug. 12. The Milwaukee Bucks ’ opening game will be Oct. 21 at Washington and their home opener at Fiserv Forum will be Oct. 23 vs. Chicago.

Here are some notable takeaways from their schedule:

When does Giannis play the Bucks?

The Miami Heat will play in Milwaukee on Jan. 28 at 8:30 p.m. It is one of the two nationally televised games the Bucks have scheduled initially, and it will be streamed on Prime Video. It will be the first time Giannis Antetokounmpo plays in Milwaukee as a member of the visiting team , as he was traded on July 6 after 13 seasons with the Bucks .Miami will return to Milwaukee on March 12 at 7 p.m.

More: How the Giannis Antetokounmpo era in Milwaukee came to a bitter end

The Bucks will travel to Florida to play the Heat on Nov. 18 in a game to be broadcast on ESPN. That game will mark the return to Miami for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jakučionis. The Bucks will head back to Miami on Feb. 4

When is the Bucks home opener?

Oct. 23 vs. Chicago, 7 p.m.

The Bucks have no national appeal

The organization has been a prime-time draw for networks and streaming services for the better part of the last decade, but the Bucks begin the season as a relatively irrelevant participant.

Though the team fell out of the Christmas Day rotation after the 2023-24 season (snapping a streak of six straight appearances) they were a prominent draw on other marquee dates for the league and had many matinee start times for the international audience. This year, the team will not be a part of the slate of games that open the season or play on Christmas, Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Presidents Day. Beyond that, none of their NBA Cup group play games will be available on Prime.

In all, the team is scheduled to appear on the primary national platforms of ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock and Prime just twice with both of those games against former Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat.

That is down from 13 national appearances last year, 26 in 2024-25 and 28 in 2023-24.

What channel will the Bucks be on?

The FanDuel Sports Network is no more, and the team migrated to MY24 for the Milwaukee audience for the 2026-27 season. Preseason and regular season games will be broadcast over the air locally. According to the team, the channel can be accessed via “most major cable systems and YouTube TV.”

Affiliates are in Green Bay (WBAY-TV), Madison (WISC-TV), La Crosse-Eau Claire (WKBT-TV), Wausau-Rhinelander (WJFW-TV) and Duluth-Superior (to be announced at a later date).

What is the longest home stand for the Bucks?

The Bucks will be home from March 29 through April 8, playing six games at Fiserv Forum:

March 29 vs. Dallas, 7 p.m.

March 31 vs. New Orleans, 7 p.m.

April 2 vs. Charlotte, 7 p.m.

April 4 vs. Brooklyn, 1 p.m.

April 6 vs. Chicago, 7 p.m.

April 8 vs. New York, 7 p.m.

What is the Bucks’ longest road trip?

Milwaukee will be on the road from Jan. 17-26, playing five games:

Jan. 17 at Los Angeles Lakers, 8 p.m.

Jan. 20 at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

Jan. 22 at Golden State, 9 p.m.

Jan. 23 at Denver, 8 p.m.

Jan. 26 at Utah, 8 p.m.

How many back-to-backs will the Bucks play?

14

The team had 14 sets of back-to-backs last season, 16 in 2024-25 and 14 in 2023-24.

When is new head coach Taylor Jenkins’ first game back at Memphis?

Dec. 12, 4 p.m.

Jenkins was the head coach of the Grizzlies from the 2019-20 season through most of the 2024-25 campaign. He led Memphis to three playoff appearances and had an overall record of 250-214.

What is the NBA Cup schedule?

The Bucks will play in East Group A, which includes Toronto, Orlando, Brooklyn and Detroit. Here are the dates and times of their group play games:

Nov. 6 vs. Toronto, 7 p.m., NBA League Pass

Nov. 13 at Orlando, 6 p.m., NBA League Pass

Nov. 25 vs. Brooklyn, 7 p.m., NBA League Pass

Nov. 27 at Detroit, 6:30 p.m., NBA League Pass

The quarterfinals (Dec. 4-5) and semifinals (Dec. 8-9) will now both be played at the home arena of the top seed. The NBA Cup title game will be played Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Milwaukee won the 2024 NBA Cup and reached the 2023 semifinals in Las Vegas.

Bucks- Packers  crossover dates

Nov. 8 vs. Boston, 7 p.m., Packers at New England (3:25 p.m.)

Nov. 15 vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m., Packers vs. Minnesota (noon)

Nov. 25 vs. Brooklyn, 7 p.m., Packers at Los Angeles Rams (7 p.m.)

Dec. 20 vs. Golden State, 7 p.m., Packers vs. Miami (noon)

Bucks-World Series crossover dates

Should the Milwaukee Brewers reach the World Series, here are the Bucks games that would be played on the same dates:

Oct. 23 vs. Chicago, 7 p.m., Game 1

Oct. 24 at Philadelphia, 6:30 p.m., Game 2

Oct. 26 vs. Indiana, 7 p.m., Game 3

Oct. 28 vs. Houston, 7 p.m., Game 5 (if necessary)

Oct. 31 vs. Cleveland, 7 p.m., Game 7 (if necessary)

What is the Bucks preseason schedule?

Milwaukee will play five exhibition games this year:

Oct. 5 vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Oct. 7 at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Oct. 14 vs. Chicago, 7 p.m.

Oct. 16 at Indiana, 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Milwaukee Bucks' 2026-27 schedule is out: When does Giannis return?

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