Ranking NBA teams by number of national TV games
By Ian Levy
The NBA schedule was released in full on Thursday, Aug. 15 and fans are already diving in, looking for the most exciting games to circle on their calendar as well opportunities to gripe about or celebrate what the schedule-makers did for them — who has unusually long road trips? Who has the most back-to-backs? Who gets off to the toughest start?
And, of course, the ultimate sign of respect — who has the most national television games?
Time zones are, of course, a factor in the NBA national tv schedule but primarily this is a reflection of how the league and it's media partners view the relative quality, star power and national appeal of each team. As such, it shouldn't come as any surprise which teams are at the top.
NBA national TV schedule: Teams ranked by number of games
TEAM | NATIONAL TV GAMES |
|---|---|
Los Angeles Lakers | 39 |
Golden State Warriors | 36 |
Boston Celtics | 34 |
New York Knicks | 34 |
Dallas Mavericks | 30 |
Phoenix Suns | 30 |
Denver Nuggets | 29 |
Milwaukee Bucks | 27 |
Philadelphia 76ers | 27 |
Minnesota Timberwolves | 25 |
Oklahoma City Thunder | 25 |
Los Angeles Clippers | 21 |
San Antonio Spurs | 21 |
Memphis Grizzlies | 17 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | 16 |
Indiana Pacers | 14 |
Miami Heat | 13 |
New Orleans Pelicans | 13 |
Sacramento Kings | 12 |
Houston Rockets | 11 |
Orlando Magic | 9 |
Atlanta Hawks | 8 |
Charlotte Hornets | 7 |
Utah Jazz | 7 |
Brooklyn Nets | 5 |
Chicago Bulls | 5 |
Washington Wizards | 5 |
Detroit Pistons | 4 |
Portland Trail Blazers | 4 |
Toronto Raptors | 4 |
The Lakers and Warriors hold the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, just as they did last year when they had a combined 41 games on national television. However, the Warriors will have five fewer games on national television this season and several other teams have seen a big change in their number of national TV games.
NBA national TV schedule: Teams ranked by change in number of games
TEAM | CHANGE IN NATIONAL TV GAMES |
|---|---|
Minnesota Timberwolves | +15 |
Oklahoma City Thunder | +12 |
New York Knicks | +9 |
Indiana Pacers | +8 |
Houston Rockets | +7 |
Orlando Magic | +4 |
Dallas Mavericks | +2 |
San Antonio Spurs | +2 |
Denver Nuggets | +1 |
New Orleans Pelicans | +1 |
Toronto Raptors | +1 |
Charlotte Hornets | 0 |
Detroit Pistons | 0 |
Boston Celtics | -1 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | -1 |
Los Angeles Clippers | -1 |
Los Angeles Lakers | -1 |
Washington Wizards | -1 |
Chicago Bulls | -2 |
Memphis Grizzlies | -2 |
Philadelphia 76ers | -2 |
Portland Trail Blazers | -2 |
Utah Jazz | -2 |
Milwaukee Bucks | -3 |
Golden State Warriors | -5 |
Brooklyn Nets | -6 |
Atlanta Hawks | -7 |
Phoenix Suns | -7 |
Sacramento Kings | -10 |
Miami Heat | -11 |
The teams that gained the most national television games this season were some of the biggest surprises from last year — the Timberwolves, Thunder, Knicks and Pacers — all of whom announced themselves as unexpected contenders. The teams that lost the most national television games were the Hawks, Suns, Kings and Heat — all of whom may still be playoff contenders this year but probably won't be the championship contenders they seemed to be coming into last season.
One other benefit of this year's NBA national television schedule is slightly more balance. Last season, four teams had 35+ national TV games and two teams had 40+. This year, no team has more than 40 and just two have 35 or more. So you'll still see a lot of those top four teams, but slightly less than you would have last year.
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