The Brooklyn Nets aren’t part of the NBA’s opening-week spotlight or its Christmas Day showcase for the 2026-27 season, and that absence fits the moment they’re in.
On Tuesday, the league started rolling out its schedule for next season, beginning with national TV games for opening week and the Christmas slate. The teams that made the cut include Brooklyn’s division rivals in Philadelphia, Boston and New York, plus Houston and former Nets star Kevin Durant.
That kind of lineup wasn’t built with Brooklyn in mind. The Nets are coming off a 20-win season and are projected to miss the postseason again in 2027, so there was never much reason to expect them on one of the league’s marquee dates.
Still, the bigger question is what it will take for Brooklyn to get back there.
Not long ago, the Nets were a regular fixture on national TV, showing up on opening week and on Christmas Day. Back then, the formula was obvious: stars, buzz and a roster good enough to matter deep into the season.
That remains the ticket now. To get back into those showcase windows, Brooklyn needs to become either a team built around one of the league’s biggest names, a true contender, or ideally both. Every team on next season’s opening-week and Christmas lists checks at least one of those boxes.
The Nets have never been shy about star hunting, and another big swing could put them back on the national stage. Players such as Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle give the roster some intrigue because of their contracts, and a strong start paired with encouraging signs from the young core could push Sean Marks toward the league’s next blockbuster.
Or Brooklyn could choose a slower route, ride out the rebuild and make smaller moves over time with an eye on climbing back toward the top of the East.
Either way, the bigger prize isn’t opening week or Christmas. It’s being in the games that matter in May and June. The Nets want to be relevant again, and they want the national TV treatment that comes with it, but there’s no reason to force the issue just to land on a holiday schedule.
In Other News...
Nets Fans Are About To Learn How Much Respect This Team Gets
The next few days will give the Nets a much clearer read on where they stand around the league. The NBA is rolling out the full 2026-27 regular season schedule in pieces between Tuesday and Friday, and with it come the dates that tend to say the most about a teams profile: Opening Night, Christmas Day and the NBA Cup slate. Brooklyn has already done most of its offseason shopping, including the addition of Julius Randle, so the attention now shifts from what the roster looks like to how the league chooses to showcase it.
For a team trying to reassert itself, those placement details matter. The Nets are expected to land in East Group A for the NBA Cup, where the competition is slated to include the Pistons, Raptors, Magic and Bucks, a grouping that will offer an early hint at how the league views Brooklyns place in the conference. The schedule release should answer a lot of those questions in short order, even if the final judgment on respect comes later on the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Rebuild Timeline Just Put One Big Brooklyn Question In Focus
The Nets are still leaning into a patient rebuild, one that puts internal development ahead of any immediate swing for a superstar trade. Around the league, that kind of timeline only becomes more important when rivals are balancing their own futures, and the Knicks offer a good example of how fragile roster building can be even after a championship. Jalen Brunson is recovering from wrist surgery and remains in the middle of a 6-to-8 week timeline, while New York also has three young players with limited NBA experience and Mohamed Diawara looking like the most likely to help next season.
Brooklyns front office has made its preference clear for now, and that leaves one big question hanging over the next phase of the rebuild: how long the Nets are willing to stay in this lane before the urge to accelerate grows stronger. The broader Eastern Conference context only sharpens it, especially with the Knicks still trying to sort out their own supporting cast and the league continuing to mark the passing of former Knicks coach Don Nelson, a reminder of how quickly circumstances can change around a franchise. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Still Have One Roster Battle That Could Matter More Than Fans Think
With Chaney Johnson and Tyler Bilodeau already locked in, the Brooklyn Nets still have one two-way roster spot to sort out for the 2026-27 season, and the final decision does not look close to being settled yet. Summer League has already given the front office a few names to keep circling, with several players making enough of an impression to stay in the conversation as the team moves toward camp.
Dain Dainja and Ben Humrichous have both put themselves into the mix, while Cam Nelson remains a possibility once healthy after missing Summer League because of injury. The Nets have not made a final call, and training camp could end up being the place where this job is won, which is exactly why a seemingly small roster battle may wind up carrying more weight than it first appears. [Read more 🡒]