The NBA playoffs begin Saturday, April 18, and for the first time in more than two decades, the postseason will air without TNT.
The NBA released the Game 1 schedule for the first round on Sunday, with eight matchups spread across two days and three broadcast partners. Under the league’s new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal with ESPN/ABC, Amazon Prime Video, and NBC/Peacock — which kicked off this season after TNT’s nearly 40-year run with the league came to an end — all three partners are carrying first-round games for the first time.
Saturday’s slate opens with Raptors-Cavaliers at 1 p.m. ET, followed by Timberwolves-Nuggets at 3:30 p.m., Hawks-Knicks at 6 p.m. — all on Prime Video — and Rockets-Lakers at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Sunday’s slate has the Celtics hosting the East 7th seed at 1 p.m. ET on ABC, the Thunder hosting the West 8th seed at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC, the East 8th seed visiting the Pistons at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock, and the Spurs hosting the West 7th seed at 9 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock.
Here are possible — but unconfirmed — announcing assignments for the first round:
The East and West 7th and 8th seeds will be determined by the Play-In Tournament, which tips off exclusively on Prime Video, marking its first postseason appearance in the league’s history under the new deal. The Play-In schedule opens Tuesday with Heat-Hornets at 7:30 p.m. ET and Trail Blazers-Suns at 10 p.m. ET, continues Wednesday with Magic-76ers at 7:30 p.m. ET and Warriors-Clippers at 10 p.m. ET, and concludes Friday with the winner of Game 1 against the loser of Game 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the winner of Game 4 against the loser of Game 2 at 10 p.m. ET.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.