Final NBA on TNT slate tips off with Knicks vs. Celtics, Timberwolves vs. Lakers on Opening Day

Kari Anderson
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - MAY 12: A view of the NBA on TNT logo on a broadcast camera prior to the start of the third quarter of Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round Playoffs between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on May 12, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 115-107. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
TNT has held NBA broadcast rights for 35 years, but this looks to be the final season under the new 11-year media rights deal. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) (David Berding via Getty Images)

In what will likely be its final slate, NBA on TNT is starting out the season with a bang. With the full NBA schedule coming out on Thursday, TNT starts strong, holding the first two games of the NBA season, with the New York Knicks at the Boston Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Los Angeles Lakers on opening night.

TNT will also broadcast San Antonio Spurs at the Dallas Mavericks — an early battle of European stars Victor Wembanyama vs. Luka Dončić — and an MVP finalist battle with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Oklahoma City Thunder taking on Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets. In all, TNT holds the rights to four of the 11 NBA games during the first week of the season.

This season is set to be the last for NBA on TNT: As of now, TNT has been cut out of the new NBA media deal, ending the company's 35-year run of NBA coverage.

The NBA announced its new media rights deal at the end of July, renewing a deal with ESPN and agreeing on new deals with NBC and Amazon Prime. TNT had a chance to match the Amazon portion of the deal, but it was not successful. That deal, worth $1.8 billion, will last for the next 11 seasons starting in 2025.

TNT missing the cut also likely means the end of fan-favorite NBA analysis show "Inside the NBA." After the media deal was reported, "Inside the NBA" host Charles Barkley said that he's "not sure TNT ever had a chance."

As of now, TNT's future with the NBA is still murky: After failing to match Amazon's piece, TNT and its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement that it will continue to challenge that ruling, saying that stipulations in its previous contract mean that the NBA can't reject its matching offer.

For now though, fans have one season left to enjoy it. Besides tip-off week, other highlights of the TNT slate include an NBA Finals rematch with the Mavericks at the Celtics on February 6, several key NBA Cup matchups and a number of interconference rivalries.

The rest of the NBA on TNT schedule can be found here.

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