NBA announces schedule for 2023-24 season

The NBA has released its full schedule for the 2023-24 season.

• Complete list of games
• In-Season Tournament games
• National TV games
• NBA TV games
• League Pass games

NEW YORK — The NBA today released its complete game schedule and broadcast schedules for TNT, ESPN, ABC, NBA TV and ESPN Radio for the 2023-24 regular season. The day-by-day and team-by-team schedules are attached and available at NBA.com/schedule.

The 78th NBA regular season will tip off on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, and conclude on Sunday, April 14, 2024. The 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament will take place from Tuesday, April 16 – Friday, April 19, followed by the start of the 2024 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel on Saturday, April 20. Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV is set for Thursday, June 6.

The regular-season schedule includes defined dates and opponents for 80 of each team’s 82 games, along with two games designated as TBD dates and opponents. Those two games for each team, to be played the week of Dec. 4, will be determined based on the results of Group Play games in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. The Group Play game schedule (Nov. 3-28) was announced on Aug. 15.

The first five days of the 2023-24 regular season will feature 10 national television games, with two doubleheaders each on @NBAonTNT and @ESPNNBA and one on @NBATV.

Those games will showcase 14 teams and three rematches from the 2023 Playoffs (DEN-LAL, MIA-BOS and GSW-SAC). pic.twitter.com/D8mH5l4xdb

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 17, 2023

Kia NBA Tip-Off 2023

The first five days of the 2023-24 NBA regular season (Oct. 24-28) will feature 10 national television games as part of Kia NBA Tip-Off 2023, with two doubleheaders each on TNT and ESPN and one on NBA TV. Those games will showcase 14 different teams, three rematches from the 2023 NBA Playoffs and rosters that currently include 17 NBA All-Star selections from last season and seven recipients of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award.

The regular season will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 24 with a doubleheader on TNT, marking Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ 40^th consecutive year of NBA coverage. In the first game, the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets will receive their championship rings before hosting the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals (7:30 p.m. ET). In the second game, the Phoenix Suns will visit the Golden State Warriors (10 p.m. ET) as three-time NBA All-Star Bradley Beal of Phoenix and 12-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul of Golden State make regular-season debuts with new teams and Paul faces the team for whom he played the previous three seasons.

ESPN will tip off its 22^nd straight season of NBA telecasts on Wednesday, Oct. 25 with a doubleheader, which begins with the Boston Celtics visiting the New York Knicks (7 p.m. ET) in a matchup of teams that reached the Eastern Conference Finals and Eastern Conference Semifinals, respectively, last season. The San Antonio Spurs will host the Dallas Mavericks in the second game (9:30 p.m. ET), marking the NBA regular-season debut of 2023 first overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio.

On Thursday, Oct. 26, intraconference rivalries will highlight TNT’s doubleheader as the Milwaukee Bucks host the Philadelphia 76ers (7:30 p.m. ET) and the Suns take on the Lakers in Los Angeles (10 p.m. ET). ESPN’s doubleheader on Friday, Oct. 27 will have the Miami Heat meeting the Celtics in Boston (7:30 p.m. ET) and the Warriors visiting the Sacramento Kings (10 p.m. ET) – rematches from seven-game playoff series in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference First Round, respectively.

NBA TV will begin its live game coverage of the new season on Saturday, Oct. 28 as the Knicks visit the New Orleans Pelicans (7 p.m. ET) and the Suns host the Utah Jazz (10 p.m. ET).

The NBA today released its complete game schedule for the 2023-24 regular season.

🏀 Schedule by day: https://t.co/xbV9h7p4pT

🏀 Schedule by team: https://t.co/DpwzhGB94u

🏀 Press release: https://t.co/8Buebtuwr9 pic.twitter.com/RgEsqhuX88

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 17, 2023

Christmas Day

The NBA will feature five games on Christmas Day (Monday, Dec. 25) for the 16^th year in a row, with ABC or ESPN televising each matchup. The 76^th edition of the NBA on Christmas Day will tip off on ESPN as the Bucks face the Knicks in New York (noon ET).

The next two games will air on both ABC and ESPN. The two most recent recipients of the Larry O’Brien Trophy will go head-to-head when the 2022 NBA champion Warriors visit the 2023 NBA champion Nuggets (2:30 p.m. ET). Next, the Lakers will host the Celtics (5 p.m. ET) as the longtime rivals meet on Christmas Day for the first time in 15 years.

The Christmas Day schedule will conclude with two more games on ESPN, with the 76ers taking on the Heat in Miami (8 p.m. ET) and the Mavericks playing the Suns in Phoenix (10:30 p.m. ET).

The NBA on Christmas Day will feature five games, with ABC or ESPN televising each matchup.

Both networks will air @warriors at @nuggets and @celtics at @Lakers. pic.twitter.com/kUDurG47aR

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 17, 2023

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

On Monday, Jan. 15, the NBA family will celebrate one of its most important traditions by honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The celebration will include four nationally televised games. In a TNT doubleheader, the Atlanta Hawks will face the Spurs (3:30 p.m. ET) and the Grizzlies will meet the Warriors (6 p.m. ET) as Atlanta and Memphis continue their traditions of hosting games on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. NBA TV will also air two games: Houston Rockets at 76ers (1 p.m. ET) and Oklahoma City Thunder at Lakers (10:30 p.m. ET).

TNT will present a doubleheader and NBA TV will also televise two games on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 15. pic.twitter.com/ntfid47NLp

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 17, 2023

NBA Rivals Week

Classic and budding rivalries between teams and players will take center stage for the second annual NBA Rivals Week in January. Rivalries will be the focus of all 11 nationally televised games across four networks (TNT, ESPN, ABC and NBA TV) over five days from Tuesday, Jan. 23 – Saturday, Jan. 27.

NBA Rivals Week will culminate with an ABC tripleheader on Jan. 27, including 2023 Conference Semifinals rematches between the Heat and Knicks in New York (3 p.m. ET) and the Lakers and Warriors in San Francisco (8:30 p.m. ET). In between those two games, reigning Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid and the 76ers will visit two-time Kia NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets (5:30 p.m. ET) in a matchup of centers who have been the top two finishers in MVP voting in each of the last three seasons.

Classic and budding rivalries between teams and players will take center stage for the second annual NBA Rivals Week.

Rivalries will be the focus of all 11 nationally televised games across four networks over five days from Jan. 23-27. pic.twitter.com/mmZClxnmAv

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 17, 2023

Election Day

For the second consecutive season, no NBA games have been scheduled for Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 7) as the league will continue to encourage fans and the broader NBA community to make a plan to vote and participate in the civic process. As part of this initiative, the NBA will share important resources from voting organizations and highlight the civic engagement work of teams in their markets.

Final Day of Regular Season

All 30 teams will play on the final day of the regular season (Sunday, April 14). In an effort to maximize competitive fairness, the seven games between Eastern Conference teams will begin at 1 p.m. ET, and the seven games between Western Conference teams and the one cross-conference game will start at 3:30 p.m. ET. ESPN will televise a doubleheader, with the matchups to be determined at a later date.

NBA Global Games

NBA TV will televise both Global Games on the 2023-24 regular-season schedule. As previously announced, the Hawks will meet the Orlando Magic in The NBA Mexico City Game 2023 on Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City (9:30 p.m. ET), and the Brooklyn Nets will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in The NBA Paris Game 2024 on Thursday, Jan. 11 at the Accor Arena in Paris (2 p.m. ET).

NBA In-Season Tournament

NBA-In-Season Tournament Group Play games for all 30 teams will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays in November, with TNT, ESPN and NBA TV combining to televise 16 games. Eight teams will advance to the Knockout Rounds, which consist of single-elimination games in the Quarterfinals (Monday, Dec. 4 and Tuesday, Dec. 5), Semifinals (Thursday, Dec. 7) and Championship (Saturday, Dec. 9). The national broadcast schedule for the Knockout Rounds will be announced at a later date.

More National Television Matchups

2023 NBA Finals rematches between the Nuggets and Heat will take place on Thursday, Feb. 29 in Denver on TNT (10 p.m. ET) and on Wednesday, March 13 in Miami on ESPN (7:30 p.m. ET).
The top two picks in the 2023 NBA Draft – No. 1 pick Wembanyama of the Spurs and No. 2 pick Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets – are scheduled to meet for the first time in the regular season when San Antonio hosts Charlotte on Friday, Jan. 12 on ESPN (10 p.m. ET).
Also on Jan. 12, ESPN will present the first nationally televised matchup between twin brothers and NBA rookies Amen Thompson of the Rockets and Ausar Thompson of the Detroit Pistons – the fourth and fifth picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, respectively – when Houston visits Detroit (7:30 p.m. ET).
Three-time NBA Hustle Award recipient and 2021-22 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart of the Grizzlies, who played the previous nine seasons with the Celtics, will play his first game in Boston as a visitor on Sunday, Feb. 4 on ESPN (6 p.m. ET).
The first national television matchup between the top two picks in the 2022 NBA Draft – No. 1 pick and 2022-23 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero of the Magic and No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren of the Thunder – is set for Tuesday, Feb. 13 in Orlando on TNT (7:30 p.m. ET).
Leading into NBA All-Star 2024, TNT will feature a single game on Thursday, Feb. 15, with the Bucks visiting the Grizzlies (8:30 p.m. ET).

Additional Schedule Highlights

All 30 teams are scheduled to make at least one appearance on TNT or ESPN in the 2023-24 regular season. The NBA on TNT, ESPN, ABC and NBA TV will present flexible scheduling throughout the regular season to provide the most compelling matchups to a national audience.
The team average for back-to-backs involving travel between games has been reduced to a record-low 9.0. The previous low was 9.6 last season.
Primetime weeknight doubleheaders across TNT (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and ESPN (Wednesdays and Fridays) will again be played at 7:30 p.m. ET/10 p.m. ET except for one instance during the first week of the season.
ABC will televise 16 games as part of its two weekend series, NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC (which tips off with the Jan. 27 tripleheader during NBA Rivals Week) and NBA Sunday Showcase (which begins with Celtics at Heat on Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. ET).
NBA TV will feature Center Court throughout the season, the network’s marquee night of programming, which incorporates enhanced viewing options into an originally produced telecast. In the season debut of the franchise, the Warriors will visit the Pelicans on Monday, Oct. 30 (8 p.m. ET).
ESPN Radio will broadcast 25 games in the regular season, including Nuggets-Lakers on opening night, Knicks-Bucks and Nuggets-Warriors on Christmas Day, and Hawks-Spurs on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
NBA League Pass will offer live, out-of-market games all season through the NBA App, NBA.com, connected televisions and TV providers. Fans can unlock direct access to stream matchups featuring their favorite teams and players with NBA League Pass (blackout restrictions apply). For more information, visit NBA.com/leaguepass.
The regular season will feature 39 games that will air in primetime in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) as part of “NBA Saturdays and NBA Sundays presented by NBA 2K23.”
The 2024 NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV and the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals will be exclusively televised by ABC and ESPN/ABC, respectively. TNT will exclusively televise the 2024 Western Conference Finals and the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
NBA games and programming are available in 214 countries and territories in more than 50 languages.