NBA schedules Oct. 20 tripleheader to open 2026-27 season

The NBA has scheduled an NBC and Peacock tripleheader for Tuesday, Oct. 20, to open its 2026-27 season. Boston visits Detroit at 3 p.m. ET, Philadelphia plays the defending champion New York Knicks at 7 p.m., and Oklahoma City visits San Antonio at 9:30 p.m. USA TODAY’s game guide places the games at Little Caesars Arena, Madison Square Garden and Frost Bank Center, respectively.

USA TODAY calls it the first NBA opening-day tripleheader broadcast nationally. The outlet describes the afternoon game in Detroit as an NBA-NBC experiment intended to turn opening night into an all-day event.