Aug. 23, 2026, 5:00 p.m. CT
After a one-year sabbatical, the NBA schedule-makers are banking on the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks to renew their longstanding rivalry. The 2026-27 regular season schedule has dropped. Looking at it, those two teams will have most of their matchups on national TV.
Even with their summer of cost-cutting moves, the Thunder remain one of the title favorites. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams are one of the most decorated trios in the league — with one championship ring already in hand.
The Thunder have the fifth-most national TV appearances in the 2026-27 regular season at 30. Only the New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers have more at a maximum of 34 apiece. Three of those games will be against the Mavericks.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks are a popular pick to be a postseason team. Cooper Flagg lived up to the hype — and then some — last year as the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year winner. The 19-year-old averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He scored a rookie-record 51 points in a single game.
With Kyrie Irving expected to return from a torn ACL, Dallas is finally rebounding from the franchise-altering Luka Doncic trade it made in Feb. 2025. Along with first-year head coach Dusty Mays and lottery pick Morez Johnson Jr., the Mavericks have brighter days ahead. Which means more national attention.
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The Thunder travel on the road early in the year to face the Mavericks on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 8:30 p.m. CT. It will be shown on ESPN. The second national TV matchup will happen on Monday, Mar. 8 at 8:30 p.m. CT. OKC will host Dallas. It will be shown on NBC and Peacock.
Finally, the Thunder once again host the Mavericks on Wednesday, Mar. 17 at 6:30 p.m. CT. It will be shown on ESPN. That’s three of their four games happening in front of a national audience.
In a role reversal from earlier this decade, the Thunder are the veteran title contender while the Mavericks are an up-and-coming team. Gilgeous-Alexander and Flagg should dominate the rest of the NBA’s 2020s era as two of the more powerful superstars. Looks like they’re getting ahead of that with how the schedule rolled out.