It seems like the NBA season just ended a couple months ago.
That’s because it did. The schedule is just one of the dozens of adjustments the league was forced to make in the face of the global coronavirus pandemic. Even if the Lakers just won the 2020 championship on October 12, fans are still excited for the upcoming 2020-21 season. That’s because we’re all in the same boat with fewer options to entertain ourselves than we had just a year ago.
The NBA on ABC for the 2020-21 season
That makes the NBA’s tv schedule even more important. As we did last year, we’re providing you how and when and where to watch NBA when it’s on ABC.
One thing that won’t be changed by the Covid-19 pandemic is the fact that ABC will kick off their NBA coverage on Christmas Day with the reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee Bucks taking on a re-tooled new-look Golden State Warriors that’s welcoming back Stephen Curry.
That’s just one of the the three nationally-televised games on ABC that day (and one of five if you include ESPN). Here’s how and when and where to watch the NBA on ABC. This is the network’s NBA TV schedule for X-Mas day and beyond:
| DATE | HOME | AWAY | TIME | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEC 25 | Milwaukee Bucks | Golden State Warriors | 2:30 PM ET | ABC |
| DEC 25 | Boston Celtics | Brooklyn Nets | 5:00 PM ET | ABC |
| DEC 25 | Los Angeles Lakers | Dallas Mavericks | 8:00 PM ET | ABC |
| JAN 30 | Boston Celtics | Los Angeles Lakers | 8:30 PM ET | ABC |
| FEB 6 | Dallas Mavericks | Golden State Warriors | 8:30 PM ET | ABC |
| FEB 13 | Golden State Warriors | Brooklyn Nets | 8:30 PM ET | ABC |
| FEB 20 | Los Angeles Lakers | Miami Heat | 8:30 PM ET | ABC |
| FEB 21 | New Orleans Pelicans | Boston Celtics | 3:30 PM ET | ABC |
| FEB 27 | Brooklyn Nets | Dallas Mavericks | 8:30 PM ET | ABC |
| FEB 28 | Milwaukee Bucks | Los Angeles Clippers | 3:30 PM ET | ABC |
The NBA released their second half of their television schedule for ABC, ESPN and TNT. The ABC TV schedule is the lightest of all nationally televised games with only five games. Outside of the NBA All-Star Game, there are no regular season games to be shown on ABC for the entirety of March!
| DATE | HOME | AWAY | TIME | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4 | Los Angeles Lakers | LA Clippers | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Apr 10 | Los Angeles Lakers | Brooklyn Nets | 8:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Apr 17 | Golden State Warriors | Boston Celtics | 8:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Apr 24 | Los Angeles Lakers | Dallas Mavericks | 8:30 p.m. | ABC |
| May 2 | Brooklyn Nets | Milwaukee Bucks | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
That’s it. Not until the NBA Playoffs will we see a game on ABC after the May 2nd, 2021.
Check out ESPN’s NBA 2020-21 TV schedule here
Christmas Day on ABC Tradition
As has been tradition, December 25th also marks the first of weekend of afternoon NBA games being televised on any cable or national networks including ESPN and TNT. It’s also been a tradition to show the Los Angeles Lakers – the most valuable and recognizable franchise in the league – on Christmas Day. As expected LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers (along with Brooklyn, Golden State, Boston and Dallas) have the most ABC games. with three appearances each.
These five teams take up 15/20 slots. The NBA knows what brings in viewers.
At least with what we know now. With only half the NBA schedule released, we only have insight into 10 games on ABC. During more-normal times, we’d get a full slate of 20 or so games to be watched on Saturdays and Sundays post-Christmas.
Hopefully if all goes well — and the NBA doesn’t have any covid problems with the current slate of games – we’ll get another release of ten NBA games on ABC. Stay tuned.
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