The NBA's new TV deal had a banner first year.
The new broadcasters injected a new perspective, approach and life to NBA coverage. It made for a fun and exciting season.
The more important thing for fans was that national TV basketball was on every day -- even if fans had to scramble to learn the new schedule and figure out where games were airing on any particular day.
Everyone should be excited for the second year of this deal ahead of an exciting 2027 season.
The Orlando Magic will not be on TV as much this season. After making the splashiest move of the summer, the Magic had 14 national TV appearances across all the national TV partners at the beginning of last season.
Orlando should expect somewhere around 10 national TV games this season, probably getting closer to 12 (that is at least using last year's over/unders compared to national TV appearances from Sportico).
The Magic will get their day in the sun.
The NBA's schedule will likely be released this week. And we will spend time assessing the Magic's national TV attention.
For now, we can only think about which matchups might get the national TV shine. And which networks they will air on.
The majority of the Magic's national TV games will likely end up on Prime Video or ESPN -- although I could see the Magic being a great Peacock team as an up-and-comer and a good team that national TV partners do not want to invest in fully.
But we are playing matchmaker today and matching the Magic with their best national TV matchups and the networks that would air them.
ABC (The Mega-National Stage): at New York Knicks
The Orlando Magic are not getting any games on ABC this year.
Unless there is a stray afternoon game that gets switched late in the season, the Magic are not enough of a featured team to get the go-ahead for the primetime Saturday night games on ABC (or even the Basketball Night in America games on NBC on Sunday nights).
That does not help with our exercise to pick out the matchups we want to see on the national stage.
And so if we are going to pick a game to see on the biggest stage the NBA has to offer in the regular season, we are going to shoot for the top.
The New York Knicks are the NBA champions. Everyone is going for them.
But the Magic are one of the few teams to get some licks in. They have been a difficult matchup for New York for the last several years. The teams have split the last 12 meeting in the last three seasons, including a 2-2 split last year.
The biggest -- and last -- matchup between the two came in last year's NBA Cup semifinal. Playing without Franz Wagner and in Paolo Banchero's second game back from a strained groin, the Magic struggled to keep pace with the Knicks as Jalen Brunson put the finishing touches on a dominant second half to end the game and send the Knicks to the Cup final.
Orlando's games against New York are always contentious.
The Knicks know the Magic are a forgotten contender in the East. And it should not be shocking if the Magic and Knicks find themselves playing a national TV game this season -- and maybe even a Cup rematch.
NBC (Basketball Night in America): at Philadelphia 76ers
There is not much of a rivalry between the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers. Certainly not one for a national stage.
The two teams met in the 7/8 Play-In Game last year, and the Sixers came out on top in a fairly ordinary but intense game. The Magic could not argue that they left much on the table. Philadelphia just won.
The Sixers obviously took a different lesson from their Play-In appearance. They went out and got Jaylen Brown. Then they added LeBron James, instantly vaulting them into title contention.
The Sixers are a Christmas team now. That pretty much says it all. And Christmas teams get the ABC and NBC weekend primetime games.
The Magic are not a Christmas team (sorry to break that to you). They likely will not get any Sunday night NBC games this season. Those are reserved for the top teams.
But the matchup between the Magic and the Sixers should still be interesting, nevertheless.
NBC (Coast-2-Coast Tuesday): vs. Miami Heat
Undoubtedly though, the Orlando Magic's profile was lowered after last season.
The team did not meet expectations and then did not do much this offseason. So there is a sense the Magic are slinking into the background. There is certainly a lot less belief in the Magic's ability to make noise this season.
The Miami Heat made one of the splashier moves in acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo and put Florida back in play.
To be sure, the Heat are the national TV attraction more than the Magic now on brand name and star power alone. Antetokounmpo may still be the best player in the Eastern Conference when he is healthy.
The Magic and Heat are rarely good at the same time. And so now they are set to re-establish their state rivalry.
Orlando won all five games against Miami last season, including the NBA Cup quarterfinal game in Orlando. The Magic's size was difficult for them to handle. But many of the games were competitive -- or at least shocking in how dominant the Magic were.
This will be a game that should get some eyeballs. I would expect one Magic-Heat game to make a national TV appearance.
Prime Video: vs. Detroit Pistons
The Orlando Magic already know they will see the Detroit Pistons early in the season.
The Magic and Pistons were put in the same NBA Cup group, guaranteeing the Pistons make an early-season trip to Orlando. It would not shock me if that game is given the national TV treatment.
After a seven-game series, the Magic and Pistons are effectively rivals now and not just merely teams growing at the same rate.
To be sure, the Cup game between the Magic and Pistons will be far more important to the Magic than the Pistons. Orlando has some demons to exorcize. And the first game in Orlando since the Game 6 debacle will be cleansing and a moment for the team to put the past firmly behind them.
That matters for this Magic team.
But this is just a fun matchup. Two young defensive-minded team who are not afraid to get physical. Isaiah Stewart may not be in Detroit anymore to increase the testiness between the two teams -- neither is Moe Wagner in Orlando -- but these teams do not like each other.
The Magic and Pistons quietly have a really strong rivalry going. And this will make for a great under-the-radar regular season matchup.
ESPN: at Indiana Pacers
It is hard to assess where the Indiana Pacers will be this season.
They were conference finalists in 2024 and reached Game 7 of the NBA Finals in 2025 before Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles and was lost for the entire 2026 season.
The Pacers did not benefit from a draft pick but turned that pick into Ivica Zubac. They figure to be reloaded and ready to go this season and try to claim their spot back near the top of the Eastern Conference.
Haliburton's health will determine just how good the Pacers can be.
The Orlando Magic though have been something of a Kyrptonite for the Indiana Pacers' fast-paced offense. In the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the Magic went 5-2 against the Pacers. That included Paolo Banchero's 50-point game early in the 2025 season.
Orlando's physical defense was disciplined and seemingly could contain Indiana's fast-break account.
Most around the league probably would not think of this as a great matchup. But it was a great contrast in styles. And styles make fights.
This is a matchup everyone should be quietly looking forward to.
Peacock: vs. Charlotte Hornets
The Peacock schedule was a really interesting experiment.
NBC put games exclusive to its streaming app every Monday, and it often featured experimental broadcasts and teams. They tried having the color analysts sit next to the team benches to give a different perspective. They also featured a lot more up-and-coming teams.
This is national TV for the sickos.
And so this is a good space to air games between up-and-coming teams like the Orlando Magic. And like the Charlotte Hornets.
The Hornets became the NBA Internet's darling team as they began to pick up steam and play a fun brand of fast-paced, three-point shooting basketball. Almost everyone had the Magic losing to the Hornets in the Play-In Tournament, considering how their seasons had gone compared to expectations.
The Magic slapped the Hornets. And now Charlotte is trying to figure out how to rebuild itself into a more serious contending team.
In all likelihood, these are the kind of games the Magic will find themselves on national TV for. If the Magic get 12 national TV games, I would bet four or five end up on Peacock. And they will be games like this one against the Charlotte Hornets -- or Memphis Grizzlies or Phoenix Suns.
Add us as a preferred source on Google