The NBA announced the schedule for the 2026 NBA Finals on Tuesday, and the series will follow a slightly different pattern from the way it had been scheduled in recent years.
The finals will start on a Wednesday (June 3) as opposed to 2025, when the series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers began on a Thursday.
According to Sports Media Watch, 2026 will be the first year since 1970 that no NBA Finals game will be scheduled on a Sunday. Even during the 2020 Finals, which didn’t begin until late September and were held in the NBA’s Orlando bubble after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the season, games overlapped with two NFL Sundays. Game 7 has traditionally been scheduled for Father’s Day, while Game 2 has also traditionally been played on a Sunday. This year, a potential Game 7 would be held on Friday, June 19.
In 1999, Game 6 was set to be played on a Sunday, but the San Antonio Spurs defeated the New York Knicks in five games.
The NBA today announced the schedule for the NBA Finals 2026 presented by YouTube TV.
The best-of-seven series tips off Wednesday, June 3. Game 7 is scheduled for Friday, June 19, if necessary.
All games are 8:30 PM ET on ABC.
Complete schedule ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/OnhTOq35wT
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 20, 2026
Some of the scheduling adjustments could potentially be attributed to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be played in North American cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 through July 19. According to Sports Media Watch, the NBA would typically play Game 4 of the finals on Friday, June 12, but the league instead scheduled the game for Wednesday, June 10. On June 12, the U.S. Men’s National Team will face Paraguay in both teams’ World Cup opener in Inglewood, Calif., at 6 p.m. PT.
Also, unlike last year, when there were two days between Games 1 and 2, there will be only one day of rest between the first two games in 2026. Game 2 will be played on Friday, June 5. There are two-day breaks between any games that require the teams to travel between cities (after Game 2 and, if necessary, after Games 4, 5 and 6).