NBA returns to NBC, debuts on Peacock opening night, Oct. 21, with Thunder vs. Rockets, Warriors vs. Lakers
The NBA opens its season on that October Tuesday with tip-off doubleheader on NBC and Peacock: The Houston Rockets at the Oklahoma City Thunder on the night that OKC raises its championship banner; then, one of the NBA's great rivalries resumes as Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors travel to Los Angeles to take on LeBron James and the Lakers. Those games were announced this morning by NBC Sports and the NBA on the TODAY show (another six games coming to Peacock and NBC also were announced).
In the season opener, starting at 7:30 ET, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates will get their championship rings from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver before the game, then watch the first championship banner in Oklahoma City get raised to the rafters. In a bit of dramatic irony, the Thunder will then start the defense of their title against the Houston Rockets and Kevin Durant — a player who was arguably the best player ever to put on a Thunder uniform, but someone unable to get OKC that final step to a title (he left the Thunder to win two rings with the Warriors). This game is also a showdown of the top two seeds in the Western Conference from a season ago.
In the second game of the evening, scheduled for 10 p.m. ET, Curry and LeBron renew their rivalry that includes four NBA Finals series (and 22 total Finals games). While those two aging stars remain some of the biggest draws in the league, a lot of attention will be on their team's other powerhouses — the Lakers' Luka Doncic and the Warriors' Jimmy Butler. Doncic, in particular, will pique the interest of a lot of fans after his offseason conditioning and diet — photos of him looking much thinner and in better shape went viral.
Peacock NBA Monday
NBC Sports and the NBA also announced today the debut games for Peacock NBA Monday — weekly games exclusively streaming on Peacock — as well as the four games for a quadrupleheader on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026.
Peacock NBA Monday will debut Oct. 27 with an exclusive streaming doubleheader, starting with Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons from Detroit, starting at 7 p.m. ET. That will be followed by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves hosting Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets in Minneapolis at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Quadrupleheader
NBC Sports will present a quadrupleheader on Martin Luther King Jr. Day — Jan. 19, 2026 — featuring some of the biggest names in the league, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young, Gilgeous-Alexander, Mitchell, Cooper Flagg, Jalen Brunson, Jaylen Brown and more. The games are:
• 1:00 p.m. ET: Milwaukee Bucks at Atlanta Hawks (Peacock exclusive)
• 2:30 p.m. ET: Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland Cavaliers (NBC/Peacock)
• 5:00 p.m. ET: Dallas Mavericks at New York Knicks (NBC/Peacock)
• 8:00 p.m. ET: Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons (NBC/Peacock)
All season long, every NBA game presented by NBC Sports will stream nationwide on Peacock. The complete schedule for the 2025-26 NBA on NBC and Peacock slate will be released this Thursday.
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