NBA playoff games in the first round, which are to be removed from local television programs in 2026

NBA's new television law will come into force next year because the league approves a contract with ESPN/ABC, Amazon and NBC. After the announcement, there was a lot of excitement and also some worry, especially since many were concerned that the popular “Inside the NBA” show would no longer be, but this situation was fixed.

With Amazon and NBC, now on board, you will obviously have some exclusivity and priority with certain things, and radio games are one of them. These networks want as many eyes as possible and unfortunately this means that local networks lose part of your playoff radio.

According to Alex Silverman and Tom Freund of Sports Business Journal, all Playoff games in the first round are shown exclusively on national television and must not be broadcast in local team networks:

As part of the new triely national package of the NBA with ESPN/ABC, Amazon and NBC, all playoff games in the first round will be exclusive national television channels that cannot be broadcast on the local networks of the teams. NBC is guaranteed at least 15 games in the first round, while Prime Video should no less than nine games in the first round.

It is an unfortunate but not unusual situation here because the league wants to appease its new partners and these networks do not want fans to subscribe. The NBC games should not be a big problem for the fans that can be prepared, but for those without Amazon Prime they could miss some important matchups if they are not subscribed to.

This is similar to what is done in the NFL, also with Amazon, since certain games are only included in streaming service, including some playoff games. It will undoubtedly be an adaptation time, but the fans simply have to get used to the new normality with this right -wing contract.

JJ Redick & Rob Pelinka deserve voices in NBA Coach & Executive of the Year Awards

A few members of the Los Angeles Lakers family received a certain recognition because both head coach JJ Redick and General Manager Rob Pelinka were the votes for the NBA coach of the year and the NBA managing director of the year.

Overall, both Redick and Pelinka took sixth place, but deserved candidates who had at least a little love for what they did to take a step forward to the Lakers this season. Kenny Atkinson from the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA trainer of the year, while Sam Presti was appointed NBA Executive of the Year from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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