The NBA’s 2026-27 schedule has put the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks back in the spotlight, and this time the league is giving their matchup the national stage it’s been missing for a year.
Three of the four meetings between the teams will air in front of a national audience, a clear sign that schedule-makers are betting on this rivalry to carry real juice again. The Thunder, still carrying title expectations after a summer of cost-cutting moves, are among the league’s biggest TV draws. Dallas, meanwhile, is suddenly back in the conversation as a team worth watching every week.
Oklahoma City finished with the fifth-most national TV games in the league at 30. Only the New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers were scheduled for more, with each reaching a maximum of 34. Three of those Thunder appearances come against the Mavericks.
The first one lands early: Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 8:30 p.m. CT in Dallas on ESPN.
The second comes Monday, Mar. 8 at 8:30 p.m. CT, when the Thunder host the Mavericks on NBC and Peacock.
Then Oklahoma City gets Dallas again on Wednesday, Mar. 17 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
That’s a lot of spotlight for a series that now feels built around two very different teams. The Thunder have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, a trio that already owns a championship ring.
The Mavericks are the younger, rising side, led by Cooper Flagg, who backed up the hype in 2025-26 by winning Rookie of the Year and averaging 21 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He also set a rookie record with 51 points in a game.
Dallas is also expecting Kyrie Irving back from a torn ACL, while first-year coach Dusty Mays and lottery pick Morez Johnson Jr. add to the sense that the franchise is moving forward after the Luka Doncic trade in Feb. 2025.
In a twist from earlier in the decade, Oklahoma City is the established contender and Dallas is the team trying to climb into that tier. With Gilgeous-Alexander and Flagg both positioned as major faces of the league’s 2020s, the NBA has made its choice to get ahead of the story.
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