--- title: "NBA reveals schedule for 2026/27 season at Madison Square Garden; LeBron James 76ers debut vs Knicks" sdDatePublished: "2026-08-12T13:16:00Z" source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/nba-2026-27-schedule-lebron-opening-night" topics: - name: "sport" identifier: "medtop:15000000" - name: "basketball" identifier: "medtop:20000851" - name: "sports transaction" identifier: "medtop:20001148" locations: - "Anmore" - "San Antonio" - "Dallas" - "Los Angeles" - "Minnesota" - "Oklahoma City" - "Philadelphia" - "Detroit" - "Boston" - "Phoenix" - "Miami" - "Indianapolis" - "Indiana" - "Milwaukee" - "Denver" - "New Orleans" - "Las Vegas" - "Nevada" - "Manchester" - "Île-de-France" - "Canada" - "Mexico" - "China" - "United States" - "France" --- NBA reveals schedule for 2026/27 season at Madison Square Garden; LeBron James 76ers debut vs Knicks NBA reveals schedule for 2026/27 season: Key dates, top games & everything you need to know NBA reveals schedule for 2026 27 season: Key dates, top games & everything you need to know 27 NBA season tips off on 20 October with a triple-header, featuring LeBron James in a Philadelphia 76ers jersey. Here are the games – and key dates – unveiled so far. 27 NBA season begins with a triple-header that includes LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers facing the defending champion New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The NBA unveiled its opening night and Christmas Day games on Tuesday (11 August). The full 82-game schedule for all 30 teams follows on Thursday 13 August at 3pm ET. The schedule release follows one of the most dramatic offseasons in recent memory for the top men's basketball league in the world. Triple Olympic gold medallist James, who turns 42 in December and is entering his 24th season, left the Los Angeles Lakers after eight years for a two-year deal in Philadelphia. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded from Milwaukee to the Miami Heat in June, and 2024 champion Jaylen Brown went from Boston to the 76ers in exchange for Paul George and draft picks. Here's everything you need to know about the 2026 NBA trade tracker 2026 live: Every deal of the offseason as free agency opens FRA v USA - Men's Gold Medal Game | Basketball | Olympic Games Paris 2024 The Men's Basketball Gold Medal Game took place on 10 2024 at Bercy Arena, Paris. For the fifth time in a row, United States of America claimed the Gold with an 98:87 win against France. Who are the defending NBA champions? The New York Knicks, who won their first title since 1973 by beating the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in last season's Finals. Every game in that series was within five points inside the final five minutes — the only Finals on record where that's happened — and New York erased a double-digit deficit in all four of its wins. Jalen Brunson was named Finals MVP after scoring a franchise Finals record 45 points in the Game 5 clincher in San Antonio. The Knicks' championship banner goes up before tip-off on 20 October. New York Knicks 2026 NBA champions: The stats and graphics behind their first title since 1973 Jalen Brunson celebrates with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy during the New York Knicks Championship ticker tape parade. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , for a second season running. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard averaged 31.1 points and 6.6 assists a game as his side posted the league's best record, and he took 83 first-place votes — 73 more than runner-up Nikola Jokic . He was named Clutch Player of the Year as well. Who won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2025 Cooper Flagg . The Dallas Mavericks forward, first overall pick in the 2025 draft out of Duke, averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists and took 56 first-place votes ahead of his former college teammate Kon Knueppel . Who won NBA Defensive Player of the Year? Victor Wembanyama , unanimously — the first player to sweep the vote for the award. The San Antonio centre anchored the defence that took the Spurs to the Finals. Who won NBA Coach of the Year? Joe Mazzulla , who took the Boston Celtics to 56-26 and the East's second seed with Jayson Tatum missing most of the season. He's the first Celtics coach to win it since 1980. 27: When are the top games? All times are U.S. Eastern Time (ET). Opening night on 20 October features three games: Boston at Detroit (3pm ET), Philadelphia at New York (7pm ET) and Oklahoma City at San Antonio (9:30pm ET), a rematch of last season's Western Conference finals. Antetokounmpo's Heat debut comes a day later on 21 October against Minnesota. Christmas Day brings five games, led by a Finals rematch: Spurs at Knicks, tipping off at noon ET. James returns to Los Angeles that afternoon when the 76ers visit the Lakers at 5pm ET, followed by Thunder at Timberwolves and Nuggets at Warriors. The NBA Cup final leaves Las Vegas for Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on 11 December — the first time the showpiece has been staged outside Nevada since the competition began in 2023. Which NBA games are being played abroad in 2026 Three regular-season games go overseas. The Denver Nuggets meet the Indiana Pacers at Arena CDMX in Mexico City on 7 November, and in January the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans play twice in Europe — at the Bercy Arena in Paris (which hosted the basketball medal games at Paris 2024) on 14 January, then at Co-op Live in Manchester on 17 January. 27 NBA season key dates 29 September — Training camps open 3–11 October — Preseason, including the NBA Canada Games (Quebec City, Vancouver) and NBA China Games (Macao) 20 October — Opening night 30 October–27 November — NBA Cup group play 7 November — NBA Mexico City Game, Arena CDMX 4–11 December — NBA Cup knockout rounds, final at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis 25 December — Christmas Day, five games 14 & 17 January 2027 — NBA Paris Game (Bercy Arena) and NBA Manchester Game (Co-op Live) 11 February 2027 — Trade deadline 19–21 February 2027 — All-Star Weekend, Phoenix How to watch the NBA 2026 United States: Games are split across NBC and Peacock, ESPN and ABC, and Prime Video. Christmas Day is on ABC and ESPN; opening night is on NBC and Peacock. International: NBA League Pass carries live and on-demand coverage, subject to local blackouts. Check local NBA broadcast partners for regional coverage. Picture by 2025 Getty Images