Trail Blazers Rumors

EuroBasket Notes: Fontecchio, Avdija, Sarr, Vucevic, Sengun

After shooting a rough 23.8% from the field in Italy’s first two EuroBasket games, Heat forward Simone Fontecchio rebounded in a big way on Sunday. As The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang (Twitter link) relays, Fontecchio poured in 39 points while shooting 65.0% from the field and 70.0% from three in a win against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also added eight rebounds and three assists across 37 minutes.

The Italian forward broke his country’s all-time single-game scoring record, surpassing Andrea Bargnani‘s 36 points in 2011. The only other modern player in Italy’s all-time top five is Danilo Gallinari‘s 33 points in 2015.

Fontecchio’s breakout EuroBasket game, which included seven three-pointers, is an encouraging sign for the Heat. Fontecchio arrived in Miami in the trade that sent the Heat’s all-time leader in three-pointers, Duncan Robinson, to the Pistons.

We have more from EuroBasket:

  • Israel pulled off an upset in Group D with a 80-69 win over France behind a 23-point, eight-rebound, five-steal performance from Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, per Eurohoops.net. According to the official French National Team page (Twitter link), Wizards center Alex Sarr missed the game to rest a minor right calf injury.
  • Bulls center Nikola Vucevic helped deliver Montenegro a huge win over Sweden in Group B, recording 23 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. As BasketNews details, Vucevic’s performance was one of his best in a national team jersey. “It felt great, great team effort, proud of all the guys, really competed, really left it all on the floor,” Vucevic said. “Anybody that came into the game played, had huge impact at different points right throughout the game and that’s what we needed.”
  • Alperen Sengun notched 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists against Estonia and has led Turkey to a 4-0 record in Group A. According to Eurohoops.net, the Rockets center became the first player in the last 30 years to record at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in three straight EuroBasket games.

And-Ones: Top Wings, Expectations, Hughes, G League Trade

LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard stand atop The Bounce’s ranking of the NBA’s top 40 wins, according to The Athletic’s Zach Harper, who classifies those three stars as all-time legends who are still elite. Harper’s second tier, comprised of All-NBA level performers, includes Jimmy Butler, Jaylen Brown, Paul George and Jalen Williams.

We have more from the basketball world:

  • Which NBA teams will exceed their predicted win total? Which will fall below expectations? ESPN’s Tim Bontemps makes his selections on five teams for each side of the ledger, with the Thunder and Clippers among the clubs on the plus side and the Pistons and Mavericks that won’t reach their projected records.
  • Former NBA player and coach Kim Hughes has died, according to an Instagram post from former NBA center Meyers Leonard. Hughes, 73, played in the ABA and NBA from 1975-81. Following his playing career, Hughes worked as a scout and assistant coach, most recently with the Trail Blazers through the 2014/15 season. He also had a 33-game stint as the Clippers‘ head coach during the 2009/10 season.
  • The Noblesville Boom, the Pacers‘ NBA G League affiliate, recently acquired the returning player rights to forward Jalen Slawson from the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans‘ G League affiliate, in exchange for returning player rights to center Garrison Brooks, according to a team press release. Slawson played for the Osceola Magic last season, averaging 11.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Brooks has played in Lithuania the past two seasons.

Northwest Notes: Daigneault, Holmgren, Trail Blazers Sale

Champion Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault is building a team culture that will help Oklahoma City thrive long-term, Rylan Stiles of Thunder On SI opines.

Daigneault got his start as the head coach of the club’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, in 2014. He served as an assistant coach under Billy Donovan first in 2016, and again during Donovan’s final season with the Thunder, 2019/20. Daigneault was then elevated to the head coaching role the subsequent season.

After the team missed the postseason while strategically tanking from 2020-22, Daigneault helped the young Thunder post a 40-42 record in 2022/23 and make the play-in tournament. Oklahoma City has notched the best record in the Western Conference for each of the past two seasons. Daigneault was named the league’s Coach of the Year with the 57-25 Thunder in 2023/24, and won a title with the 68-14 club this past June.

Stiles observes that Daigneault’s Thunder players can often be heard parroting many of his strategic talking points and suggests that’s a positive indicator of their commitment to his approach.

There’s more out of the Northwest:

  • Rising Thunder big man Chet Holmgren agreed to a five-year, maximum rookie-scale extension this summer. The deal is projected to be worth around $240MM. Stiles observes that Oklahoma City has everything it needs to help Holmgren reach another level on offense. The 7’1″ center out of Gonzaga has struggled with significant health challenges during his nascent pro career, having missed all of what would have been his rookie season in 2022/23 with a foot ailment and sitting out 50 regular season bouts in 2024/25 due to a pelvic fracture. In the 32 regular season games he did play last year, Holmgren averaged 15.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.2 BPG, 2.0 APG and 0.7 SPG.
  • A group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has reportedly agreed to purchase controlling ownership of the Trail Blazers for $4.25 billion. Dundon and the Paul Allen estate are hoping to finalize an agreement in September, according to Matthew Kish and Bill Oram of The Oregonian, who take a closer look at the next steps in the process and what to expect from the new owners. It is anticipated that Dundon will be the biggest shareholder involved, but he’ll also be joined by Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr and Collective Global Management CEO Sheel Tyle. Tyle is based in Portland.
  • In case you missed it, the Timberwolves are reportedly considering a potential reunion with free agent sharpshooter Malik Beasley.

28 Current NBA Players Competing In FIBA EuroBasket 2025

On the heels of the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024, the 2025 NBA offseason doesn’t feature a major international tournament in which the United States’ top stars are competing.

However, several of the league’s biggest names – including three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and five-time All-NBA first-teamer Luka Doncic – are taking part in FIBA EuroBasket 2025, which tipped off on Wednesday.

The tournament, also known as the European Basketball Championship, takes place every four years and features 24 European countries vying for a gold medal. The 24 teams who qualified for EuroBasket are split up into four groups and will face the other teams in their group across five games from August 27 to September 4.

At the end of group play, the top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout round, which is a single-elimination tournament featuring the remaining 16 countries.

By our count, 28 active NBA players are taking part in EuroBasket 2025, along with 30 former NBA players and several more who were selected in an NBA draft but have yet to play in the league.

Here’s the full list of current and former NBA players set to compete in EuroBasket, sorted by group and country:


Group A

Czechia (Czech Republic)

  • Current NBA players: Vit Krejci (Hawks)
  • Former NBA players: None

Estonia

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Henri Drell

Latvia

Portugal

  • Current NBA players: Neemias Queta (Celtics)
  • Former NBA players: None

Serbia

Serbia’s roster also includes Nikola Milutinov and Vanja Marinkovic, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Turkey

Group B

Finland

Germany

Great Britain

Lithuania

Lithuania’s roster also includes Rokas Jokubaitis, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league, and Azuolas Tubelis, who was on a two-way contract with the Sixers during the 2023 offseason but was waived before the season began.

Montenegro

Sweden

  • Current NBA players: Pelle Larsson (Heat)
  • Former NBA players: None

Group C

Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Current NBA players: Jusuf Nurkic (Jazz)
  • Former NBA players: None

Cyprus

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Georgia

Greece

Italy

Italy’s roster also includes Matteo Spagnolo, Gabriele Procida, and Saliou Niang, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Spain

Group D

Belgium

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

France

France’s roster also includes Isaia Cordinier, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Iceland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel

  • Current NBA players: Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel’s roster also includes Yam Madar, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Poland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Jordan Loyd

Slovenia

  • Current NBA players: Luka Doncic (Lakers)
  • Former NBA players: None

Eli Kell-Abrams Named Head Coach Of Cavs’ NBAGL Affiliate

The Cavaliers have officially named Eli Kell-Abrams the new head coach of their G League affiliate, according to a press release issued by the Cleveland Charge. Previous reporting from HoopsHype indicated that Kell-Abrams would be hired for the job.

“We are very excited to have Eli join our Charge family and the long list of talented, hard-working coaches we have had here,” Charge general manager Liron Fanan said in a statement. “Eli has an infectious personalityi, great NBA experience and a really sharp basketball mind that will be an excellent combination to lead our team this upcoming season.”

Kell-Abrams was the head video coordinator in Portland for the past two seasons. He provided back-of-bench support during games and his responsibilities for the Trail Blazers also included on-court player development, game-planning, and opponent scouting. Before being hired by the Blazers, Kell-Abrams was a staffer with the Sixers and Heat.

Kell-Abrams will replace Chris Darnell, who coached the Charge last season before joining Doug Christie‘s new coaching staff in Sacramento this spring.

According to the Charge’s announcement, Darnell was the seventh consecutive Charge head coach who left that position for a job as an NBA assistant, which bodes well for Kell-Abrams’ future prospects. That group includes Jordi Fernandez, who was the head coach of Cleveland’s NBAGL affiliate from 2014-16 and is now coaching the Nets.

March 31 Target Date Set For Closing Of Blazers’ Sale

When the Trail Blazers first announced their plans to sell the franchise in May, they stated that the process was expected to extend into the 2025/26 season, so it came as a bit of a surprise when word broke last Wednesday that a buyer had been found.

However, the sale of the team to a group headed by Tom Dundon isn’t expected to become official in the short term. According to Jason Quick of The Athletic, a target date of March 31, 2026 has been set for the closing of the deal.

As Quick outlines, Dundon and his group of investors have reached an exclusivity agreement with the late Paul Allen‘s estate, which means that the estate is no longer permitted to negotiate with other potential buyers. The two sides are continue to discuss certain terms of the sale, but all major points have been agreed upon and the buyers hope to sign a purchase agreement next month, a source close to Dundon tells Quick.

While a seven-month timeline to complete the sale of the team would be longer than average, it typically takes a few months from the time a tentative agreement is reached for a new ownership group to completely close its sale. For instance, it was reported on March 20 that William Chisholm had struck a deal to buy the Celtics; that deal was approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors last week, with the team confirming the closing of the sale this Tuesday.

The valuation of the Blazers in the sale is estimated to be $4.25 billion, and the plan is to keep the team in Oregon. The future of Moda Center remains up in the air, however. As Quick writes, the team has a lease agreement in place to continue playing at the arena until at least 2030, but commissioner Adam Silver has said a new building will likely be necessary.

“Nothing about the arena is a deal breaker on its own,” Quick’s source said. “It’s lots of little things that add up.”

Regardless of what happens with the arena, Blazers fans should be enthusiastic about how the change in ownership will impact the franchise, that source close to Dundon tells The Athletic.

“He brings a swagger,” the source said of Dundon. “If Tom was the owner last year, he would have been trying to get Luka (Doncic). He would be like, ‘Why should the Lakers have him?'”

NBA 2025 Offseason Check-In: Portland Trail Blazers

Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2025 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Portland Trail Blazers.


Free agent signings

  • Damian Lillard: Three years, $41,606,800. Third-year player option. No-trade clause. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
  • Blake Wesley: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

  • Acquired the draft rights to Yang Hansen (No. 16 pick), the Magic’s 2028 first-round pick, the Hawks’ 2027 second-round pick, and the Kings’ 2028 second-round pick from the Grizzlies in exchange for the draft rights to Cedric Coward (No. 11 pick).
  • Acquired Jrue Holiday from the Celtics in exchange for Anfernee Simons.

Draft picks

  • 1-16: Yang Hansen
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $21,393,587).

Two-way signings

  • Caleb Love
    • One year, $85,300 partial guarantee (will increase to $318,218 at start of regular season).

Note: The Trail Blazers carried over Sidy Cissoko on a two-way contract from 2024/25.

Departed/unsigned free agents

Other roster moves

Salary cap situation

  • Operating over the cap ($154.6MM) and below the luxury tax line ($187.9MM).
  • Carrying approximately $186.4MM in salary.
  • Hard-capped at $195,945,000.
  • Full bi-annual exception ($5,134,000) available.

The offseason so far

Mired in mediocrity (or worse) for several seasons, the Trail Blazers finally experienced a breakthrough in the second half of the 2024/25 season. Following a 13-28 start, they finished the year on a 23-18 run, as a defense that ranked 28th through the first 41 games of the season was the NBA’s third-best across the final 41.

That second-half success was driven largely by Portland’s young players. No Blazer logged more minutes during the final 41 games than Toumani Camara, who was recognized with a spot on the All-Defensive second team. Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe were the team’s leading scorers after the All-Star break, averaging 23.3 and 21.2 points per night, respectively. And 2024 lottery pick Donovan Clingan became the full-time starter at center as Deandre Ayton missed the final 28 games of the season due to a calf injury.

The question entering the summer, then, was would the Blazers continue to patiently add young pieces to their improving core, or would they look to build on their second-half run by adding win-now veterans capable of helping the club get back to the playoffs in 2026?

The first major agreement Portland’s front office reached this offseason was a trade sending Anfernee Simons and a pair of second-round picks to Boston in exchange for Jrue Holiday. The move raised eyebrows, given that the 26-year-old Simons is on an expiring $27.7MM deal, while the 35-year-old Holiday has three years and $104.4MM left on his contract. It seemed to be a signal that the Blazers, leaning into the defense-first identity they established during the final months of the 2024/25 season, were focused on taking another step forward in the short term.

But the rest of the Blazers’ offseason moves didn’t really fit that narrative. On draft night, the front office moved down from No. 11 to 16 and made arguably the most shocking pick of the first round by nabbing Chinese center Yang Hansen. The big man wasn’t widely projected to come off the board in round one — ESPN had ranked him 35th overall, while The Athletic had him at No. 48 on its big board. But there were rumblings that the Blazers didn’t feel comfortable moving down any further than No. 16 because they believed another team was eyeing Hansen within the next few spots.

The long-term potential of Hansen, who has earned comparisons to Yao Ming and Nikola Jokic, is tantalizing, and he showed flashes of brilliance in the Las Vegas Summer League. But the 20-year-old will require some patience and probably isn’t ready to play a major role right away for a team with postseason aspirations.

The Blazers continued to show with their next couple moves that they aren’t necessarily all-in on contending in the immediate future — they bought out Ayton, their maximum-salary starting center, a day before free agency opened, then reached a deal a few weeks later to reunite with Damian Lillard, who will spend the 2025/26 season recovering from an Achilles tear.

Ayton’s buyout wasn’t a total shocker, given the emergence of Clingan and the addition of Hansen, but it signals that Portland is comfortable turning the frontcourt over to its youngsters. As for the reunion with Lillard, who spent his first 11 seasons with the Blazers, the 35-year-old is theoretically a win-now piece, but he won’t be able to contribute at all for a year. If the team were more focused on making the postseason in ’25/26, it could have used its mid-level exception on a rotation player who will actually be healthy and available.

With the benefit of hindsight and a more complete picture of the Blazers’ offseason moves, the Holiday trade – which ended up being completed without the two second-round picks due to minor concerns about the guard’s physical – reads a little differently. The two-time NBA champion is being brought in to supplement, rather than supplant, the young duo of Sharpe and Scoot Henderson, who should benefit from Holiday’s veteran leadership and his ability to take on the tougher defensive assignments in which Simons would’ve been overmatched.

It’s fair to question whether it was the right move for the Blazers to invest in a mid-30s guard who is making nearly $35MM per year and whose production slipped to new lows in 2024/25. But it certainly still seems like the ultimate goal in Portland is to build around that young core. After Avdija, Camara, and Clingan showed last season that they’re very much on the right track, the Blazers are hoping that Holiday’s guidance will help ensure that Sharpe and Henderson are right there with them.

The other major story of the Blazers’ offseason broke within the last week, as billionaire Tom Dundon reached a tentative agreement to purchase the franchise from Paul Allen‘s estate.

It’s hard to get a clear sense of how a new team owner will operate until he actually takes control and starts making moves, and it may be a little while before that happens, since the deal will require the approval of the NBA’s Board of Governors. But Blazers fans should be encouraged by the job Dundon has done with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes since buying the team in 2018. On the heels of a nine-year playoff drought, the Hurricanes have made the postseason seven straight times and won nine playoff series in Dundon’s first seven full seasons as majority owner.


Up next

The Trail Blazers have 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts and only have a little breathing room below the luxury tax line, so unless they plan to make a trade before the preseason begins, their roster looks pretty set.

Having said that, it’s worth noting that there’s no shortage of trade candidates on the roster — Jerami Grant and Robert Williams, for instance, likely aren’t part of the long-term plans in Portland, and Williams is on an expiring contract. But Grant has a sizable cap hit and is coming off a down year, while Williams has only appeared in 26 games over the past two seasons due to injuries, so neither one has much trade value at this point.

Portland does have a two-way contract slot open, with no obvious candidate to fill it. If they don’t sign anyone to a two-way deal in the coming weeks, there could be an open competition in training camp for that spot. Undrafted rookies Sean Pedulla and Andrew Carr are among the players said to have received camp invites on Exhibit 10 contracts.

With no major roster decisions on tap in the short term, the Blazers’ biggest decision this fall may be whether or not to extend Sharpe. The former seventh overall pick has been inconsistent as a shooter and defender since entering the NBA and missed most of his second year due to an abdominal injury, but he’s an incredible athlete who is still just 22 years old and has exhibited legitimate scoring ability — he put up a career-best 18.5 points per game last season.

Finding the right price for Sharpe could be tricky, but if the Blazers are still big believers in his upside and think a breakout could be around the corner, this might be their best chance to sign him to a team-friendly long-term contract. Of course, if Sharpe and his camp believe the same thing, they probably won’t be inclined to settle for too modest a deal. Perhaps there’s a middle ground for Sharpe and the Blazers somewhere between the four-year rookie scale extensions signed a year ago by Corey Kispert ($54MM) and Trey Murphy ($112MM).

While Sharpe has an Oct. 20 deadline for a rookie scale extension, there’s no such restriction for Camara, who will remain eligible for a veteran extension all season long, assuming his minimum-salary team option for 2026/27 is declined as part of an agreement. Camara would be eligible to receive up to approximately $87MM for four seasons on an extension starting in ’26/27 or roughly $63MM over three seasons if his ’26/27 option is exercised and a new deal begins in ’27/28.

The former second-round pick earned praise from opponents for his defensive tenacity and showed off an improved offensive game in his second NBA season, knocking down 37.5% of his three-point attempts. He’s an important part of the future in Portland.

Starting an extension for Camara a year later would benefit the Blazers, who are in position to have some cap flexibility during the 2026 offseason. But if giving him a significant raise in ’26/27 is what it takes to get a deal done, Portland shouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger — especially since, without an extension, the team may end up needing to decline that option anyway in order to make him a restricted free agent next July.

Central Notes: Green, Kell-Abrams, Portis, Giannis

Javonte Green fits right into the Pistons’ identity after establishing a reputation as a hard-nosed defender with versatility, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes.

The Pistons signed Green to a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract, filling the 14th spot on the 15-man roster. He’ll compete for minutes at the wing positions and could also be utilized as an undersized power forward. Green is a superior rebounder and shot-blocker for his size.

On the offensive end, Green’s dynamic athleticism stands out, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press notes. He will add another above-the-rim threat that already has a few in the rotation.

Green’s minimum-salary deal would pay him $2,874,436 if he earns the full amount. For now, the contract is partially guaranteed for $925K, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • The Cavaliers are hiring Eli Kell-Abrams as the head coach of their NBA G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge, Scotto tweets. Kell-Abrams spent the past two seasons as a video coordinator for the Trail Blazers. He has also had stints with the Sixers and Heat organizations.
  • While there’s still speculation about Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s future, Bucks teammate Bobby Portis doubts the superstar will ask the front office for a trade. Portis made his comments during an interview with ESPN Milwaukee (hat tip to Josue Pavon of ClutchPoints).  “I talk to Giannis all the time. That’s my teammate,” Portis said. “Giannis bleeds green. That’s all I can say.” Portis also believes Milwaukee is still a true contender in the East, feeling recent postseason flops have been due to injuries. “I mean, what’s wrong with our team? Why can’t we do it this year? The only thing wrong with us is people being hurt,” he said. “We win the championship. 2022 came in and we go down. We lose Game 7 to Boston. 2023, first round, Giannis tries to dunk on K. Love, comes down, hurts his back. We don’t have big fella. 2024, Giannis hurts his leg against the Celtics in the regular season and then, doesn’t play another game. Then, coming back this year, we haven’t been really healthy. I don’t make excuses but that’s just what the tables was for us.” A video link to the interview can be found here.
  • The Bulls are reportedly turning down trade inquiries involving Coby White. Get the info here.

NBA Teams Average 14.4 Back-To-Backs In 2025/26

Five NBA teams will play a league-high 16 back-to-back sets during the 2025/26 regular season, while six clubs will have just 13 instances of back-to-back games on their schedules. The remaining 19 teams will play either 14 or 15 back-to-backs.

[RELATED: 2025/26 NBA Schedules By Team]

Those totals – along with an overall average of 14.4 back-to-backs per team – are about what we’ve come to expect in recent years.

Prior to the COVID-shortened seasons of 2019/20 and ’20/21, the NBA’s regular season consisted of 177 days, and the league had made a concerted effort to reduce instances of back-to-backs. When the league announced its initial schedule in ’19/20, its press release boasted that teams were averaging a record-low 12.4 back-to-backs that season, marking the fifth straight year in which that number had reached an all-time low.

However, since 2021/22, NBA regular seasons have spanned just 174 days, making it a little more difficult for schedule-makers to avoid back-to-back sets. The average number of back-to-backs per team is still well below where it once was (teams averaged 19.3 in 2024/25), but it’s no longer at a record low.

Here are the back-to-backs by team in 2025/26:

  1. Charlotte Hornets: 16
    Denver Nuggets: 16
    Philadelphia 76ers: 16
    Phoenix Suns: 16
    Washington Wizards: 16
  2. Golden State Warriors: 15
    Los Angeles Clippers: 15
    Miami Heat: 15
    New Orleans Pelicans: 15
    Portland Trail Blazers: 15
    Toronto Raptors: 15
    Utah Jazz: 15
  3. Brooklyn Nets: 14
    Cleveland Cavaliers: 14
    Dallas Mavericks: 14
    Detroit Pistons: 14
    Houston Rockets: 14
    Los Angeles Lakers: 14
    Memphis Grizzlies: 14
    Milwaukee Bucks: 14
    New York Knicks: 14
    Orlando Magic: 14
    Sacramento Kings: 14
    San Antonio Spurs: 14
  4. Atlanta Hawks: 13
    Boston Celtics: 13
    Chicago Bulls: 13
    Indiana Pacers: 13
    Minnesota Timberwolves: 13
    Oklahoma City Thunder: 13

Warriors, Lakers, Knicks, Thunder Get Most Nationally Televised Games For 2025/26

Having gone from two national broadcasting partners (ABC/ESPN and TNT) to three (ABC/ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime) ahead of the 2025/26 season, the NBA’s schedule will feature a significant increase in nationally televised games.

When the league unveiled its full regular season schedule on Thursday, it announced 237 nationally televised regular season matchups, along with the seven knockout round NBA Cup games whose participants aren’t yet known, for a total of 244 contests.

As Colin Salao of Front Office Sports writes in a subscriber story, the total number of nationally televised games is up by more than 40% from last season, when the league’s partners nationally broadcasted a total of 172 games.

Salao also points out that beginning in the middle of the season, when the NFL schedule starts winding down, the NBA will have national games every day of the week: Peacock on Monday; NBC/Peacock on Tuesday; ESPN on Wednesday; Amazon on Thursday; Amazon and ESPN on Friday; Amazon and ABC on Saturday; and ABC, NBC, and Peacock on Sunday.

Every team will be featured at least twice on the national TV broadcast schedule, with the Warriors, Lakers, Knicks, and defending champion Thunder leading the way with 34 appearances apiece.

Here’s the full breakdown of nationally televised games by team:

  1. Golden State Warriors: 34
  2. Los Angeles Lakers: 34
  3. New York Knicks: 34
  4. Oklahoma City Thunder: 34
  5. Houston Rockets: 28
  6. Minnesota Timberwolves: 28
  7. Denver Nuggets: 26
  8. Boston Celtics: 25
  9. Cleveland Cavaliers: 24
  10. Dallas Mavericks: 23
  11. San Antonio Spurs: 22
  12. Los Angeles Clippers: 21
  13. Milwaukee Bucks: 18
  14. Detroit Pistons: 16
  15. Orlando Magic: 14
  16. Philadelphia 76ers: 14
  17. Atlanta Hawks: 13
  18. Memphis Grizzlies: 10
  19. Indiana Pacers: 9
  20. Phoenix Suns: 9
  21. Sacramento Kings: 9
  22. Portland Trail Blazers: 8
  23. Miami Heat: 5
  24. Charlotte Hornets: 3
  25. Chicago Bulls: 3
  26. Brooklyn Nets: 2
  27. New Orleans Pelicans: 2
  28. Toronto Raptors: 2
  29. Utah Jazz: 2
  30. Washington Wizards: 2

Since nationally televised matchups are subject to change, there’s no guarantee that every team will ultimately end up being featured multiple times on the national stage.

As Salao points out, all 30 clubs showed up at least once on the national broadcast schedule initially announced for 2024/25, but the Wizards didn’t get any nationally televised games after having their lone contest replaced by a showdown between Cleveland and Oklahoma City.

Additionally, not every team this season will have a game aired on a traditional, non-streaming network — the only games featuring the Raptors or Wizards will air on either Peacock or Amazon Prime.