2025–26 NBA season

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Retirements

• On June 29, 2025, Bojan Bogdanović announced his retirement from professional basketball, citing recurring foot injuries. He played for six teams in his ten-year NBA career.
• On August 18, 2025, Marco Belinelli announced his retirement from professional basketball. He spent 13 seasons in the NBA and won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.
• On August 19, 2025, John Wall announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for three teams in his 13-year career.
• On August 30, 2025, Jeremy Lin announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for eight teams in his nine-year NBA career. He is best known for the "Linsanity" phenomenon when he played with the New York Knicks in the 2011–12 season. He later won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
• On October 15, 2025, Malcolm Brogdon announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for five teams in his nine-year career and was named the [NBA NBA Rookie of the Year|Rookie of the Year Award|NBA Rookie of the Year] in 2017.
• On November 22, 2025, Chris Paul announced that the 2025–26 season would be his last after playing for seven teams during his 21-year career. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2006 and is the last remaining active player from the 2005 NBA draft.
• On December 2, 2025, Danilo Gallinari announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for eight teams over a sixteen-year career.

Draft

Free agency

Notable trades

• In the largest trade in NBA history, involving seven teams and 13 players, the Houston Rockets acquired Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green.
• The Atlanta Hawks traded Trae Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.

Coaching changes

Off-season

• On April 14, 2025, the Phoenix Suns fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after one season with the team.
• On May 1, 2025, the Sacramento Kings hired Doug Christie as their full-time head coach.
• On May 2, 2025, Gregg Popovich stepped down as Spurs head coach after 29 seasons with the team. Assistant coach Mitch Johnson was named the head coach.
• On May 2, 2025, the Memphis Grizzlies hired Tuomas Iisalo as their full-time head coach.
• On May 22, 2025, the Denver Nuggets hired David Adelman as their full-time head coach.
• On June 3, 2025, the New York Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau after five seasons with the team.
• On June 6, 2025, the Phoenix Suns hired Jordan Ott as their head coach.
• On July 7, 2025, the New York Knicks hired Mike Brown as their head coach.

In-season

• On November 15, 2025, the New Orleans Pelicans fired head coach Willie Green after four seasons with the team. Assistant coach James Borrego was named interim head coach.

Preseason

International games

Regular season

NBA Cup

• All games except the championship final counting towards the regular-season standings.
• Six intraconference pools of five.
• This season, the group games against each of the other teams in their pool, were held primarily on Fridays between October 31 and November 28. Group games were also played on Tuesday, November 25 and Wednesday, November 26.
• The winners of each pool and two wild-card teams advanced to a single-elimination tournament held on December 9, 10, 13 and 16.
• To compensate, the NBA's regular-season scheduling formula was modified so only 80 games for each team were initially announced during the offseason. The first two rounds of the tournament counted as regular-season games 81 and 82. The championship game was an extra 83rd game that did not count toward the regular season. Teams that did not qualify for the in-season tournament knockout round, or were eliminated in the quarterfinals, were scheduled additional games against other teams that were eliminated in the same conference and round to reach 82 games.
• The semifinals and championship game were held at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada for the third consecutive season.

Standings

By conference

Postponed games

• January 8: Heat vs. Bulls due to condensation on the court.
• January 24: Warriors vs. Timberwolves due to the killing of Alex Pretti.
• January 25: Nuggets vs. Grizzlies and Mavericks vs. Bucks due to the January 2026 North American winter storm.

Awards

Players of the Week

Players of the Month

Defensive Players of the Month

Rookies of the Month

Coaches of the Month

Arena changes

• The Wells Fargo Center, the home of the Philadelphia 76ers, was renamed to Xfinity Mobile Arena on August 14, 2025, under a new naming rights deal with Xfinity Mobile, a subsidiary of Comcast.
• PHX Arena, the home of the Phoenix Suns, was renamed to Mortgage Matchup Center on October 2, 2025.

Uniform and logo changes

• The Orlando Magic unveiled a new logo and uniforms, taking inspiration from the team's original look from 1989 to 2000. The "shooting ball with stars" logo returned with an updated look while the wordmarks were updated with a star replacing the letter "A" in the words "Orlando" and "Magic", which are reflected in their new uniforms. The team's "Icon" uniform was changed to a blue color while the "Statement" uniform was changed to a black and blue pattern inspired by the team's original warmup gear.
• The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a new purple Statement Edition uniform. The Lakers’ white wordmark is outlined in gold, and the white jersey numbers have a gold drop shadow. The design removes the previous black side panel, leaving only purple and gold, with "Los Angeles Lakers" along the side trim. The primary logo appears at the center of the shorts, while the "LA" mark is shown on both sides for the first time on a core uniform. "Leave a Legacy" is placed above the jock tag, and "17" at the back of the neck represents the team’s championships.
• The Phoenix Suns unveiled a new black Statement Edition uniform. The uniform takes inspiration from Arizona's sunsets with a purple and orange The Valley gradient throughout its design. A bold Phoenix wordmark is placed on the chest at an angle where the left side is leaning downwards. The team's sunburst logo was reimagined with the Valley-inspired gradient streaks across the shorts, while the classic sunburst logo is on the center of the beltline. The Suns would wear this uniform for the first time on October 31 against the Utah Jazz in their first 2025 NBA Cup game.
• The NBA, in partnership with Topps, announced that players who played their first NBA game would wear an "NBA Debut" patch on their uniforms, which were then removed and authenticated after the game on an autographed, one-on-one numbered rookie card. Additionally, previous season's winners of the Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year would wear a gold NBA logo patch on the back of their uniforms for the entire season. All award winners and members of last season's All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams also wore a special patch on their uniforms during their first game of the season. These patches depicted specific silhouettes tied to each player's award or year-end team selection. After the game, these uniforms are auctioned off by Sotheby's throughout the season. LeBron James would also wear a special patch on his uniform commemorating his record 23rd NBA season, starting with the January 12 game at the Sacramento Kings. This design featured his trademark chalk toss silhouette in front of each of the four colors corresponding to the teams he played: navy for his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, red for the Miami Heat, wine for his second stint with the Cavaliers, and gold for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Media

Television

National

• ESPN will continue to air NBA Wednesday games throughout the regular season, but will now have a limited selection of games on Fridays as well as on other days as the schedule allows, including a Thursday doubleheader on the opening week. On the final Sunday of the regular season, April 12, two games with playoff implications will be flexed into an ESPN doubleheader. This doubleheader will air on primetime instead of in the afternoon due to ESPN's opt out of Sunday Night Baseball. All these ESPN games will continue to be non-exclusive and co-exist with the teams' regional broadcast. ABC then airs NBA Saturday Primetime games on seven Saturdays between January and March, and NBA Sunday Showcase games on five Sunday afternoons in February and March. One additional game will be scheduled due to the cancellation of Golden State-Minnesota on January 24. Five Christmas Day games will be ABC/ESPN simulcasts. ESPN will also continue to air the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and the 2026 NBA draft.
• NBC's schedule begins with the NBA Tip-Off doubleheader on opening night, Tuesday, October 21. The network will then air Coast 2 Coast Tuesday: on most Tuesdays during the rest of the regular season, NBC will produce a regional doubleheader with games generally scheduled at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT, and NBC affiliates have the option to show one or both games; national doubleheaders will instead air on December 23 and 30, and no games will air on the broadcast network on February 24 due to NBC News coverage.NBC will also air Sunday Night Basketball games on eight Sundays between February and April, carrying on from Sunday Night Football after the NFL season. Additionally, NBC will have a national doubleheader on Monday, December 29, a Martin Luther King Jr. Day tripleheader, and NBA All-Star Weekend. The Coast 2 Coast Tuesday, December 29, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day games will also be non-exclusive and co-exist with the teams' regional broadcasts. Telemundo will also air 10 Sunday Night Basketball games, the [|Mexico City Global Game], and the All-Star Game in Spanish. From November 17 onward, the newly relaunched NBCSN cable channel will also carry all games exclusive to Peacock, and the reverse mirror feed of the regional Coast 2 Coast Tuesday games not airing on each respective local NBC affiliate.
• NBA TV will continue to televise games when the other national broadcasters are not airing games, and will again primarily simulcast local coverage. NBA TV's schedule includes tripleheaders on December 20, New Year's Eve, and January 3 along with a doubleheader on February 10 due to NBC's coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics. However, TNT Sports will no longer run NBA TV as part of their loss of their media rights. Instead, NBA TV was taken over by the league, with operations for the network moved from TNT's Atlanta studios to the league's offices in Secaucus, New Jersey.

• Amazon Prime Video will stream Friday night games during most of the regular season, Thursday night games during most weeks between January and April, and Saturday afternoon games on select weekends. The streaming service will also have the Berlin and London [|Global games], and the entire knockout round of the NBA Cup. A select number of Prime Video's games will be non-exclusive and co-exist with the teams' regional broadcasts.
• ESPN's new direct-to-consumer service of the same name will stream all ESPN-produced games,, including a simulcast of Celtics vs. Bulls on January 24, while both ESPN+ and Disney+ will continue to stream select ABC and ESPN games.
• Peacock will exclusively stream Peacock NBA Monday games, the Mexico City Global Game, one exclusive Martin Luther King Jr. Day game, and two additional games on February 24 due to NBC News coverage airing on the broadcast network. A select number of these regular season games will also be non-exclusive and co-exist with the teams' regional broadcasts. The service will also simulcast all games airing on NBC.
• The league-owned NBA League Pass will continue to offer out-of-market games, and live access to NBA TV.

• ESPN and ABC revamped their roster of commentators for this season. Analyst Tim Legler replaced Doris Burke on the lead broadcast team with play-by-play Mike Breen, analyst Richard Jefferson, and sideline reporter Lisa Salters. SEC Network sideline reporter Alyssa Lang also joined ESPN's NBA coverage as a sideline reporter.
• ESPN also signed a sub-licensing agreement to air TNT Sports' Inside the NBA studio show on 20 selected regular season nights and then throughout the playoffs, with TNT continuing to produce the program. ESPN's existing studio show, NBA Countdown, will then air on the other nights throughout the season.
• NBC's new team includes play-by-play announcers Mike Tirico, Terry Gannon, Noah Eagle, Michael Grady, Mark Followill, Kate Scott and John Michael; color commentators Reggie Miller, Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill, Austin Rivers, Derek Fisher, Brian Scalabrine, Robbie Hummel and Brad Daugherty; sideline reporters Zora Stephenson, Jordan Cornette, Ashley ShahAhmadi, and John Fanta; studio hosts Maria Taylor and Ahmed Fareed ; studio analysts Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady; front office insider Grant Liffmann; digital insider Chris Mannix; and special contributor Michael Jordan. Tirico called his first NBA game on a regular basis since the 2015–16 season with ESPN.
• Amazon's new team includes play-by-play announcers Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, Michael Grady and Eric Collins; color commentators Stan Van Gundy, Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade, Candace Parker, Brent Barry, Dell Curry and Jim Jackson; sideline reporters Cassidy Hubbarth, Kristina Pink, Allie Clifton and JayDee Dyer; studio host Taylor Rooks; studio analysts Dirk Nowitzki, Blake Griffin, Udonis Haslem, John Wall, Rudy Gay and Kyle Lowry; front office analyst Swin Cash; league insider Chris Haynes; and feature reporter Marcus Thompson.

Local

• Prior to the season, the Hawks, Cavaliers, Heat, Timberwolves and Bucks reached an extension with FanDuel Sports Network to keep their local games on the network until at least the 2026–27 season. The Heat later announced an agreement with WPLG, a local over-the-air station in Miami, to simulcast 12 regular season games with FanDuel Sports Network.
• In September 2025, the Suns extended its agreement with Arizona's Family Sports through the 2027–28 season.
• The Magic announced an agreement with Hearst Television to simulcast 10 games over-the-air in both Orlando and Tampa Bay. Games will air on WESH or WKCF in Orlando, and WMOR-TV in Tampa Bay.
• In December 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that DAZN was in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in Main Street Sports Group, the owner of the FanDuel Sports Networks. If the deal goes through, DAZN and Main Street would integrate their live streaming platform in the United States and collaborate on programming. Afterwards, Sports Business Journal reported that Main Street had missed a payment to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team and that the company would be forced to dissolve operations at the end of the 2025–26 season if the deal with DAZN did not go through by the end of January 2026. In January, Sports Business Journal reported that Main Street had missed payments to "several, if not all 13" of its NBA teams. As a result, Main Street and the teams with missed payments entered a 15-day grace period. Two days later, Sports Business Journal reported that talks with DAZN had stopped progressing and all MLB teams except the Tampa Bay Rays had not received payments on-time.

International

• In Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Prime Video will stream 20 additional regular-season games, along with the games being already aired in the United States, a conference final and the NBA Finals in 6 of the 11 years of the deal.
• ESPN will additionally air its slate of games in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania and the Netherlands, and will air games through Disney+ in select markets in Asia and Europe. More notably, Disney+ will also stream selected games the Philippines, and will also stream selected marquee games exclusively, and one of its conference Finals and the NBA Finals will be available to stream on delay.
• NBC will additionally air its slate of games on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Italy, and will distribute games in the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa.
• TNT Sports will air games internationally in Poland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Latin America.
• NBA TV international will also air games in select countries worldwide.

Radio

National

• ESPN Radio has rights to select regular-season games, all playoff games and rights to the NBA Finals.
• This is the sixth season of the league's muti-year deal with SiriusXM and SiriusXM Canada to simulcast all 30 teams' local regular-season and postseason broadcasts.

Notable occurrences

• On September 10, 2025, the NBA approved a rule change that will consider any shot taken within the final three seconds of the first three quarters that is taken from at least 36 feet away on any play that starts in the backcourt as a team shot attempt and not an individual one.
• On October 13, 2025, the Milwaukee Bucks signed Alex Antetokounmpo to a two-way deal. With his brothers Giannis and Thanasis, this marks the first time in NBA history that three brothers have been on the same team's roster at the same time.
• On October 23, 2025, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones were among those indicted for allegedly conducting rigged sports betting and poker games.
• On October 23, 2025, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team in NBA history to head to double overtime in both of their first two games of the season.
• On October 24, 2025, Luka Dončić became the fourth player in NBA history to open a season with back-to-back 40+ point games. He also became the first player in NBA history that opened a season with back-to-back games of 40+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 5+ assists.
• On October 24, 2025, Giannis Antetokounmpo became the first player in NBA history to have 60+ points, 30+ rebounds, and 10+ assists in the first two games of a season.
• On October 29, 2025, Nikola Jokić set the record for most triple-doubles in under 30 minutes, with 17. The previous record was held by Russell Westbrook. He also tied the record for most consecutive triple-doubles to start the season, with 4; the record is also held by Westbrook and Oscar Robertson.
• On November 10, 2025, the Cleveland Cavaliers set the record for most consecutive regular-season games with at least 10 three-pointers, with 98. The previous record was held by the Houston Rockets with a streak from 2018 to 2020. The streak ended on December 3, 2025, at 110 games.
• On November 11, 2025, general manager Nico Harrison was fired from the Dallas Mavericks, nine months after orchestrating the Luka Dončić trade.
• On November 14, 2025, Russell Westbrook became the second player after LeBron James to record 25,000 career points and 10,000 career assists.
• On November 18, 2025, LeBron James set the record for most seasons played, with 23, breaking the record he held with Vince Carter.
• On December 4, 2025, LeBron James's streak of 1,297 games of scoring 10 or more points came to an end after he scored 8 points in a victory over the Toronto Raptors.
• On December 6, 2025, the New York Knicks opened the game with a 23–0 scoring run against the Utah Jazz, the largest game-opening run without an opponent scoring since the league began keeping detailed play-by-play records in the 1997–98 season.
• On December 10, 2025, the Oklahoma City Thunder tied the record for the best 25-game start, going 24–1 with a victory over the Phoenix Suns. This matches the record set by the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors.
• On December 14, 2025, Stephen Curry broke the all time record for most 40-point games after the age of 30, surpassing Michael Jordan with a 48-point game in a 131–139 loss to the Trailblazers.
• On December 15, 2025, Cooper Flagg became the youngest player to score 40 points, at the age of 18 years, 359 days. The previous record of 19 years, 88 days was held by LeBron James.
• On December 20, 2025, LeBron James became the oldest player to score 30 points, at the age of 40 years, 355 days. The previous record of 40 years, 294 days was held by Dirk Nowitzki.
• On December 22, 2025, Kon Knueppel set the record for the fewest games to make 100 three-pointers, with 29. The previous record of 41 was held by Lauri Markkanen.
• On December 25, 2025, Nikola Jokić set the record for the most points in a single overtime period, with 18. The previous record of 17 was held by Stephen Curry. In the same game he set the record for the most points in a 15/15/15 game with 56. The previous record of 53 was held by James Harden.
• On January 8, 2026, Rick Carlisle became the 11th head coach to record 1,000 regular season wins.
• On January 10, 2026, Cody Williams set the record for the worst single-game plus/minus, recording a –60 in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The previous record of –58 was held by Scoot Henderson and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.
• On January 28, 2026, LeBron James became the first player to play 60,000 career minutes in the regular season.
• On January 29, 2026, Cooper Flagg set the record for most points in a game by a teenager, with 49 in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The previous record of 45 was held by Cliff Robinson.