Sports
The NBA Returns To NBC and Debuts on Peacock With 'NBA Tip-Off' Doubleheader on Tuesday, Oct. 21
Sports
The NBA Returns To NBC and Debuts on Peacock With 'NBA Tip-Off' Doubleheader on Tuesday, Oct. 21
Aug 12, 2025
Stamford, CT
Reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and LeBron James are among the stars who will launch the NBA’s long-awaited return to NBC -- and its debut on Peacock -- on Tuesday, Oct. 21, with an NBA Tip-Off doubleheader. NBC Sports and the NBA announced this news and additional spotlight games this morning on the TODAY show.
In the first game, Gilgeous-Alexander and the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder will raise their championship banner and receive their championship rings just before they host the Houston Rockets and Durant, who is making his Rockets debut, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst), Jamal Crawford (analyst), and Zora Stephenson (reporter) will call the game from Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. A one-hour, on-site studio show will begin coverage at 6:30 p.m. ET featuring host Maria Taylor and analysts Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter.
In the second game, Curry, Jimmy Butler, and the Golden State Warriors travel to Los Angeles to face James, Luka Dončić, and the Lakers in a Western Conference showdown at 10 p.m. ET. Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Grant Hill (analyst), and Ashley ShahAhmadi (reporter) will have the call from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif. Host Ahmed Fareed and analyst Tracy McGrady will anchor studio coverage on site.
Both games will be shown on NBC and Peacock.
In addition to NBA Tip-Off games, NBC Sports and the NBA also announced the debut games for Peacock NBA Monday and the four games comprising the first-ever quadrupleheader on Martin Luther King Jr. Day -- Jan. 19, 2026. The complete NBC Sports’ 2025-26 NBA schedule on NBC and Peacock will be released this Thursday, Aug. 14.
Peacock NBA Monday will debut with an exclusive streaming doubleheader on Monday, Oct. 27, when Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers face Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich., at 7 p.m. ET followed by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves hosting Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., at 9:30 p.m. ET.
In an NBA first, NBC Sports will present a quadrupleheader on Martin Luther King Jr. Day – January 19, 2026 – featuring stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young, Gilgeous-Alexander, Mitchell, Cooper Flagg, Jalen Brunson, Jaylen Brown, Cunningham, and more.
- 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 NBA games presented by NBC Sports will stream nationwide on Peacock all season long.
NBC SPORTS’ NBA PROGRAMMING RECAP
This season, NBC Sports will present up to 100 regular season NBA games -- including five games each week for portions of the season -- with consistent coverage on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights, plus All-Star Weekend and the NBA Playoffs.
Starting Oct. 27, Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three NBA games nationwide on Monday nights throughout the regular season. A 30-minute studio program will lead into game coverage each Monday night.
Following NBA Tip-Off on Tuesday, Oct. 21, Coast 2 Coast Tuesday will begin on Oct. 28 and present doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be presented to NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game to NBC stations in the Pacific and Mountain time zones. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. A 30-minute studio program will lead into coverage each week on Peacock.
After Sunday Night Football and NFL playoff coverage concludes in 2026, NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. This year, Sunday Night Basketball will pause on Feb. 8 and Feb. 15, 2026, due to NBC Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl LX, the NBA All-Star Game, and the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. It will resume on Feb. 22 and run through April 5. Sunday nights will occasionally feature doubleheaders. A one-hour, on-site studio program will lead into game coverage each week on NBC and Peacock.
