The 2024-25 NBA schedule got released on Thursday, and while we knew how many times each team would play each other, we now know when, where, and how we’ll be able to watch all 82 games for all 30 teams.
The most interesting part of the schedule release is seeing the national TV schedule, and finding out what teams ESPN and TNT want on their airwaves as much as possible. There are some teams that are always part of the national conversation, whether they are good or bad (Knicks, Lakers), and others with stars that command a national spotlight (Steph Curry and the Warriors). However, beyond those teams and star names, the big networks are betting on which teams will be good (or at least, interesting) when filling out the schedule. This year, the teams that saw the biggest increase in national TV games are the Timberwolves and Thunder, as the networks reward them for being last year’s top teams in the West in the regular season with a national spotlight. Meanwhile, teams like the Bulls and Heat have seen their national games cut down.
Here, we wanted to take a look at each team’s national TV schedule, broken down by network (ABC, ESPN, and TNT) — with respect to NBATV, a product I enjoy, I don’t really count those as true national games. Unsurprisingly, the teams at the top of the lists for most games on the big national networks are the Celtics (25) and Lakers (25), while the Knicks (24), Warriors (23), Mavericks (22), and Nuggets (22) all appear more than 20 times each.
ABC Games By Team
Celtics: 5
Lakers: 5
Nuggets: 4
Knicks: 4
Mavs: 4
Warriors: 4
Sixers: 3
Suns: 2
Bucks: 1
Thunder: 1
Timberwolves: 1
ESPN Games By Team
Nuggets: 11
Celtics: 10
Lakers: 10
Knicks: 10
Suns: 10
Mavs: 9
Warriors: 9
Bucks: 9
Thunder: 9
Spurs: 9
Timberwolves: 8
Sixers: 8
Clippers: 6
Pelicans: 6
Pacers: 5
Grizzlies: 5
Heat: 5
Cavs: 4
Kings: 3
Magic: 2
Bulls: 2
Rockets: 1
Hornets: 1
Hawks: 1
Pistons: 1
Raptors: 1
Jazz: 1
Nets: 0
Blazers: 0
Wizards: 0
TNT Games By Team
Celtics: 10
Knicks: 10
Lakers: 10
Warriors: 10
Mavs: 9
Timberwolves: 8
Sixers: 8
Nuggets: 7
Bucks: 7
Suns: 7
Thunder: 5
Spurs: 4
Pacers: 4
Cavs: 4
Grizzlies: 4
Magic: 3
Pelicans: 3
Kings: 3
Clippers: 3
Heat: 2
Rockets: 2
Hawks: 1
Wizards: 1
Nets: 1
Blazers: 1
Jazz: 1
Hornets: 0
Raptors: 0
Bulls: 0
Pistons: 0