The NBA released the schedule for the upcoming 2024-25 season on Thursday, highlighting the opening week's slate of games, matchups on Christmas Day as well as the third edition of Rivalry Week. We're just over two months away from Opening Night on Oct. 22, so all attention between now and then will be on the excitement for next season. But beyond all the intrigue around matchups like Klay Thompson's return to the Bay Area on Nov. 12, or Paul George returning to play the Clippers on Nov. 6, another interesting wrinkle with the schedule release is looking at which teams will be seen the most on a national stage.
The league never puts a focus on telling us which teams are getting the most nationally televised games, but it doesn't take too much time to scan through every team's schedule and figure out where they all rank in that category. At the top of the list is nothing too surprising -- you've got the biggest brands in the leagues leading the way, as well as the reigning champions. But looking at which teams are getting the most games on national television also tells us which squads or players the league views as being on the rise and which ones have fallen out of favor in terms of interest. You can also see how offseason moves impact the number of games each team gets on national television.
With that being said, let's look at where all 30 teams rank in nationally televised games for the 2024-25 season and give some insight into why they are where they are. For the purpose of this, only games on ESPN/ABC and TNT will count as nationally televised games, as NBATV is not a channel everyone gets.
The Teams With The Most National TV Games
Number of nationally televised games: 27
Is anyone surprised? It's the biggest brand in the NBA, and the biggest star in the league is LeBron James. Even when the Lakers were trotting out lottery teams during Kobe Bryant's final years in the league, the Lakers still consistently ranked near the top of nationally televised games. This team is nowhere near as bad as those squads, but this isn't a roster deserving of nearly 30 nationally televised games. However, with LeBron and his son Bronny James on the same team and new coach JJ Redick, the Lakers will be among the most talked about teams regardless of their record.
Number of nationally televised games: 26
If I'm making the schedule, the team that just won the championship should undoubtedly have the most nationally televised games, but that's just me. There's only a one-game difference between the No. 1 and No. 2 spot on this list, but when you consider the team ranked first here didn't even make it out of the first round of the playoffs, it can feel a little disrespectful to Boston. And they'll surely use that as motivation for this season to try to defend their title, which, by the way, they're more than well-equipped to do so.
Number of nationally televised games: 24
The Warriors didn't do much in the offseason to suggest they can improve upon last season's play-in tournament exit, but having Stephen Curry on your team carries a ton of weight when it comes down to figuring out which teams will get the most nationally televised games. The one game circled on everyone's calendar is when Klay Thompson returns to the Bay Area on Nov. 12, which should be a warm welcome from Warriors fans. But you can bet that matchup will have all sorts of emotion and trash talking on both sides.
Number of nationally televised games: 24
The Knicks are back! No, really this time. By far, they had the best offseason in adding Anunoby, trading for Bridges and signing Jalen Brunson to an ultra-team-friendly contract. They're well equipped to challenge the Celtics at the top of the East and are generally just a fun team to watch at Madison Square Garden.
Number of nationally televised games: 23
Coming off a surprising run to the NBA Finals, and then adding Klay Thompson to a mix that already has Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Dallas enters this season as one of the most exciting teams in the league. Last season, we saw how electrifying the Mavericks can be on offense, and that should remain the same with Doncic and Irving in the backcourt.
The Teams With The Least National TV Games
Number of nationally televised games: 1
Just a couple of years ago, the Raptors would have fallen somewhere on the middle of this list, but trading away Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, losing Fred VanVleet in free agency and a litany of other moves signaled they were pivoting towards a youth movement. That has knocked them down a few pegs. Still, I thought their young core featuring Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett would've garnered at least a couple more nationally televised games. At least we'll watch them face the Knicks on national television on Jan. 8.
Number of nationally televised games: 1
The Pistons will host the 76ers in their lone nationally televised game of the season on Feb. 7. The team underwent a slew of offseason changes, from the front office to new coach J.B. Bickerstaff. The team hopes that this is the year they can finally show some steps forward in their rebuilding process.
Number of nationally televised games: 1
The Blazers are rebuilding, so there's not a ton of national interest in this team. Couple that with a slow start out of the gates for the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NAB Draft in Scoot Henderson, and Portland's only got one nationally televised game. They'll host former Blazers star Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 28 for their primetime slot.
Number of nationally televised games: 1
The Nets finally waved the white flag after trading Mikal Bridges to the Knicks this summer, and they're fully entering their rebuilding era. This team would've ranked in the top five of this list just two years ago, but the Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden are no longer there. Brooklyn's fall from the top of the league has been far, and their only appearance on the national stage will be hosting the Knicks on Jan. 21.
Number of nationally televised games: 1
This isn't surprising in the slightest. What is surprising is the Wizards' lone nationally televised game is a Jan. 16 meeting with the Phoenix Suns at home. I was expecting the league to have either one of the Oct. 28 or Oct. 30 matchups pitting the No. 1 pick in this summer's draft Zaccharie Risacher against No. 2 pick Alex Starr when the Wizards have a home-and-home against the Hawks. But the league clearly didn't favor either of those games.
A Few Other Interesting Observations
It's surprising that the Spurs rank this high on the list with 13 nationally televised games, but that's the power of Victor Wembanyama, who, after a stellar showing during France's silver-medal Olympics run, returns to San Antonio to put the rest of the league on notice. This time, he's got Chris Paul in the backcourt. The Spurs will be must-watch television, even if they don't win many games.
The Thunder are a small market team with a passionate fanbase and one of the best homecourt advantages in the league. After landing the No. 2 overall pick, the Thunder finished first atop the Western Conference and made it to the second round of the playoffs. They added Alex Caruso to the mix and still have a vault filled with valuable picks for improvement. This is a team on a quick rise, and in all honesty, it should have more games than some of the teams listed above. Hopefully the league takes notice going forward that they're deserving of more national attention.
Conclusion
While it's not surprising to see the biggest brands in the league get the most national television games, it is interesting to see how the league prioritizes certain teams and players over others. It will be interesting to see how these teams perform this season and if the league's choices for national television games turn out to be the right ones.
