With LeBron James joining the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency, the NBA’s schedule makers have been given the green light to get to work on the 2026-27 campaign.
“Where LeBron plays will affect the schedule,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin in July. “So I would like him to make his announcement already, so we can finish the schedule, because, as you might imagine, the teams are calling us, the networks are calling us, and everybody wants to lock in the schedule. But it will influence how we set the schedule, how we set opening week, Christmas Day, etc.”
On Tuesday, the league announced the slate for two of its marquee broadcasting days, Opening Night and Christmas Day. True to Silver’s word, the schedules for both days feature James’ Sixers.
The 2026-27 regular season tips off Tuesday, Oct. 20, when Philadelphia will take on the defending NBA champion New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, the Oklahoma City Thunder travel to face the San Antonio Spurs in a rematch of the Western Conference Finals, and the Boston Celtics take the court against the Detroit Pistons.
Unsurprisingly, James and the Sixers will feature in the primetime 7 p.m. ET slot. However, fans were quick to note the Celtics-Pistons game’s unorthodox 3 p.m. ET start time. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin appeared on Tuesday’s NBA Today episode to provide some insight into the decision.
“I’ve talked to people around the league today, and they’re like, ‘ We could sense the excitement for the NBA right now,'” McMenamin said. “‘So let’s experiment with this thing.’ They talked with executives at NBC, and it was kind of a joint decision that this is something we can turn into a celebration of the game.”
Dave McMenamin on why the NBA scheduled a 3 PM game for Opening Night:
“I’ve talked to people around the league today and they’re like we could sense the excitement for the NBA right now. So let’s experiment with this thing. They talked with executives at NBC, and it was kind of… pic.twitter.com/azbvsOHWsQ
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“It’s already a marquee moment for the league. Let’s see if we can enhance it and turn it into a major showcase. Maybe down the line, this becomes a tradition for NBA fans. …Also, an added bonus, it’s an international game. 3 p.m. ET is prime-time viewing in Europe.”
The NBA joins the NFL in starting its regular season in an unconventional manner while looking to grow an international audience, and with Silver’s plan to leave a serious footprint in Europe, the amount of daytime basketball for stateside fans only figures to increase.
The post Dave McMenamin explains why NBA is opening regular season at 3 p.m. ET appeared first on Awful Announcing.
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