The 2025–26 NBA season is in full swing, with plenty of action already unfolding across the Association.
As cold weather and the inevitable winter months approach, the calendar will soon turn to mid-January and bring us to one of the NBA’s most meaningful traditions: its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day slate.
Each year, the league honors Dr. King’s legacy with a day filled with basketball, as well as reflection, remembering both the change he stood for and the progress he inspired to create in the civil rights movement. For the 2025–26 season, the NBA will showcase nine games on MLK Day, four of which will be broadcast across both NBC and Peacock as part of NBC's renewed NBA coverage.
Here’s a complete look at the 2025–26 MLK Jr. Day slate of basketball:
NBA MLK Day schedule 2026
NBC/Peacock schedule
With the NBA returning to NBC for the first time in 26 years, the network has gone all out to begin their coverage of the 2025–26 season—and that will continue on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January.
The network will play host to four games on Monday the 19th, starting out at 1:00 p.m. ET and closing with an 8:00 p.m. ET primetime contest.
Here’s a look at the schedule:
NBC’s slate is filled with superstars. Between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Trae Young facing off in Atlanta, Shai Gilgious-Alexander and Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland, Jalen Brunson and Luka Donč—wait, scratch that—Cooper Flagg in New York and Cade Cunningham and Jaylen Brown in Detroit, the NBA has quite the quartet of games to show off with their newest broadcast partner.
The best part? That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to NBA basketball on MLK Day.
In addition to its national broadcast slate, the NBA will also play five other games across the country, though they will be shown on local networks. Here’s a look at the non-national TV schedule:
Non-national TV Schedule
There’s still plenty to write home about with this slate. From Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers heading east to face the Wizards in the nation’s capital, to Jimmy Butler and the Warriors hosting the Heat—his former team—even the non-NBC games on MLK Day are set to draw plenty of attention to the NBA.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA Martin Luther King Jr. Day Games: Full Schedule.
