Basketball fans, rejoice! ESPN has officially announced the regular-season schedule for ‘Inside the NBA presented by Eli Lilly’ for the 2026-27 season. The legendary crew of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith is back, bringing their signature blend of sharp insight, candid conversation, and pure entertainment to 25 special broadcasts across ESPN and ABC.
Produced by TNT Sports from their Atlanta studios, the show kicks off with NBA Opening Week on October 21 and 22, setting up as a weekly destination throughout the early part of the season. The schedule packs in coverage around some of the biggest marquee matchups, including the Thanksgiving Eve tripleheader, the Christmas Day holiday slate, and the NBA Saturday Primetime games on ABC. There is also a major slot booked for the NBA Rivals Week quadrupleheader on January 30, leading all the way to the regular-season finale on April 11.
Pre-game coverage, ‘NBA Tip-Off presented by Eli Lilly,’ will start one hour before tip-off on ESPN game telecasts and 30 minutes before on ABC, with the post-game show rolling immediately after the games wrap up. While the main crew handles these premium windows, ESPN’s studio lineup remains stacked, with Malika Andrews hosting ‘NBA Countdown’ and the daily ‘NBA Today’ show keeping fans in the loop all year round. The playoff schedule, including the conference finals and the NBA Finals, will be shared later in the season.
