Here Is The Full 2015-16 NBA National TV Schedule

The NBA has released its full 2015-16 schedule, so head on over here or to your favorite team’s website to micro-analyze it. Below you will find a full listing of the national TV schedule, as well as a tally of the number of times each team appears on national TV. But first, a few observations.

This is the last year before the insane new television deal the NBA signed last year comes into effect. ESPN (74 games), TNT (53 games), and ABC (16 games) will combined to televise 143 games. Next year, under the new deal, ESPN/ABC will broadcast 100 games, while TNT will show 64.

The NBA schedule-makers have endeavored to reduce the number of back-to-backs and instances of four-games-in-five-nights this season. These scheduling blights contribute to a poorer entertainment product as fatigued players put in a worse performance, fans miss seeing their favorite players as pragmatic coaches simply rest their stars, and possibly result in an increase in injuries. Via the league’s press release announcing the schedule, it seems they’ve done a pretty good job:

As part of the schedule, the league’s total number of four games in five nights has been cut by more than 60 percent, dropping from 70 such instances in 2014-15 to 27 for 2015-16. In addition, the team average for back-to-back games has been trimmed from 19.3 last season to 17.8 this season.

This season will also likely see an increase in flex scheduling for all networks, ensuring better match-ups. Last year ESPN flexed out of a number of its games ( especially ones involving the Knicks), but ABC and TNT were less able to do so as they generally had more exclusive Sunday and Thursday night windows with fewer simultaneous games to flex into. At a glance, it certainly looks like there are more Thursdays with six games on the schedule as opposed to three. Increasing the number of Thursday night games is part of the way the league was able to reduce back-to-backs and four-games-in-five-nights scenarios as well.

The NBA will tip-off a little bit earlier than usual this season, on October 27, with a couple of playoff rematches, including the presenting of the championship rings to the NBA champion Golden State Warriors on their home floor:

Cleveland versus Chicago at 8 p.m. ET on TNT

New Orleans versus Golden State at 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT

The league is also back with its traditional high-quality Christmas Day slate of games:

New Orleans versus Miami at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN

Chicago versus Oklahoma City at 2:30 p.m. ET on ABC

Golden State versus Cleveland at 5 p.m. ET on ABC

San Antonio versus Houston at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN

Los Angeles Clippers versus Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

And here is the full national TV schedule for your perusal:

Every year when the schedule comes out, the first thing I do is look at how many national TV appearances each team gets. This year NBA finalists Cleveland and Golden State will each appear on national TV the maximum 25 times, while good and/or entertaining teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma, Chicago, and San Antonio will all appear over 20 times.

A pleasant surprise this year is that the NBA has finally figured out that nobody wants to watch a dogshit New York Knicks teams, and have only given them seven games. The other bad large-market team that always gets a ton of games, the Los Angeles Lakers, will be shown 19 times, but admittedly there are fewer West Coast teams to play in the 10:30 p.m. ET national TV slots. The bottom of the list is rounded out by Detroit, Denver, and Philadelphia, none of whom will be seen on national TV this season.

While the NBA has certainly improved in regards to the Knicks, every year the league does its fans and itself a disservice by catering to established teams at the expense of the up-and-coming. Toronto, a solid playoff squad (in the East) whose profile is increasing as basketball in Canada blows up even more, will only be on TV twice. The highly-exciting Utah Jazz, who look to be in a tight race for a playoff spot, will only be on TV three times. The Milwaukee Bucks, quite possibly the second best team in the East, will only be on TV four times. It would lead to lower ratings in the short-term—and it’s unclear how much sway the networks have over who gets placed on the schedule—but the league should give a few more appearances to the teams near the bottom of this list.

Total Number of National TV Appearances

Cleveland Cavaliers – 25

Golden State Warriors – 25

Los Angeles Clippers – 24

Oklahoma City Thunder – 24

Chicago Bulls – 23

San Antonio Spurs – 21

Houston Rockets – 19

Los Angeles Lakers – 19

New Orleans Pelicans – 13

Miami Heat – 11

Memphis Grizzlies – 10

Atlanta Hawks – 8

Boston Celtics – 7

Indiana Pacers – 7

Dallas Mavericks – 7

New York Knicks – 7

Minnesota Timberwolves – 5

Phoenix Suns – 5

Portland Trail Blazers – 5

Washington Wizards – 5

Milwaukee Bucks – 4

Sacramento Kings – 4

Utah Jazz – 3

Toronto Raptors – 2

Brooklyn Nets – 1

Charlotte Hornets – 1

Orlando Magic – 1

Denver Nuggets – 0

Detroit Pistons – 0

Philadelphia 76ers – 0

E-mail or gchat the author: [email protected] | PGP key + fingerprint | Photo via Getty