When does the 2026-2027 NBA season start?

The New York Knicks won the 2026 NBA Finals, defeating the San Antonio Spurs four games to one and hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy for the first time in more than five decades. For Knicks fans it's a time of celebration; for everyone else, attention turns to next season and to when NBC's NBA coverage — including Peacock NBA Monday, Coast 2 Coast Tuesday and Sunday Night Basketball — will return.

The 2026-2027 NBA regular season will arrive in October 2026, roughly four months from the end of the 2026 NBA Finals. The full schedule has not yet been released, so specific games returning to NBC and Peacock are not known. The league has set a pair of preseason Global Games in China for October 9 and October 11, so the regular season should begin shortly after that.

Before teams return to play, the 2026 NBA Draft is set for June 23 and June 24 at the Barclays Center. Each team will add talent from the draft pool and then prepare to test that talent in NBA Summer League.

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