The NBA made its 2026 Emirates NBA Cup groupings and another small batch of nationally televised San Antonio Spurs games official Wednesday.
After announcing three national TV games Tuesday, including an NBA Finals rematch on Christmas Day, the league said San Antonio will also be a larger part of its holiday-related programming.
2026 NBA Cup highlights
Last season, the Knicks captured the NBA Cup title by defeating the Spurs — a matchup between two squads few envisioned would be the last two standing in the NBA Finals six months later. New York and San Antonio will duel once more Christmas Day live on ABC and KSAT 12.
San Antonio will be in Group C during the fourth annual NBA Cup this fall alongside the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings. Each team in the group will play four games — one against each Group C opponent.
NBA Cup Group Play games will be held on seven different dates throughout the fall: Oct. 30, Nov. 6, Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Nov. 24, Nov. 25 and Nov. 27. Below are the Spurs’ Group C matchups (all times are Central):
- Friday, Nov. 6: San Antonio at Sacramento, 9 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 13: Golden State at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25: San Antonio at Portland, 9 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 27: Los Angeles at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
ESPN said Wednesday that the Spurs-Trail Blazers game will air on the network as a part of a triple-header on the day before Thanksgiving. The Lakers-Spurs game will be the second game of a Black Friday doubleheader on Amazon Prime Video.
The NBA Cup quarterfinal (Dec. 4-5) and semifinal rounds (Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9) will be held in the days leading up to the championship game. The NBA Cup title game will take place Dec. 11 at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
All NBA Cup quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games will air exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
Across the pond and back in the United States
The league also announced tipoff times for San Antonio’s international games against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Spurs are scheduled to face the New Orleans Pelicans, a fellow Southwest Division opponent, for two games: one in Paris, France (Jan. 14, 2027) and another in Manchester, England (Jan. 17, 2027).
The Paris game will tip off at 1 p.m. Central while the Manchester game will start at approximately 9:30 a.m. San Antonio time. Both games will air on Amazon Prime Video.
Nearly one month later, on Feb. 15, 2027, NBC Sports will air four games as a part of its new Presidents Day quadruple-header coverage.
One of the games between San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat in Miami will air at 4 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.
National TV exposure then vs. now
Last August, the NBA announced 22 Spurs regular season games were designated for national television coverage across ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock and Amazon Prime Video.
Through Wednesday afternoon’s NBA announcements, the Spurs already have eight of their 82 regular season games set for national television:
- Four on Amazon Prime Video
- Two on NBC/Peacock
- One on ABC
- One on ESPN
The league said it will unveil the full 2026-27 regular season schedules for the Spurs and the rest of the NBA on Thursday.
More sports coverage on KSAT:
