Wizards have the fewest number of nationally televised games in the NBA
By Cem Yolbulan
The 2023-24 NBA season schedule is finally out. All 30 teams, including the Washington Wizards, just released their full 82-game schedules for the regular season. The overall calendar gives us an idea about the league hierarchy and which teams the NBA wants to promote. Unfortunately, the Washington Wizards rank at the bottom, as demonstrated by only one nationally televised game.
Looking at the scheduled nationally televised games, not taking into account NBA TV, Washington Wizards’ sole appearance will come against the Golden State Warriors on December 22nd. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN at 10 pm EST.
However, the Wizards are not alone in the way they are ignored by the national media. The Charlotte Hornets, the Detroit Pistons, the Houston Rockets, the Indiana Pacers, the Orlando Magic, the Toronto Raptors, and the Portland Trail Blazers also have only one nationally televised game on their schedule.
Dan Feldman of Dunc’d on Prime ranked the teams based on the number of games they have on the ABC, ESPN, or TNT schedule. (subscription required) The Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers lead the way with 29 and 28 games, respectively.
The discrepancy in the number of nationally televised games between teams is understandable due to star power and market size. However, one team having four times the number of games the bottom eight teams have combined is simply not good marketing for the league. All these teams have intriguing young players that the league and its broadcasting partners should be trying to promote.
Until then, the Wizards will have to make do with NBA TV. Washington is scheduled for three NBA TV games: December 21st at Portland, December 27th vs. Toronto, and February 4th vs. Phoenix. These will be the prime opportunities for the young Wizards to introduce themselves to the rest of the league and perhaps earn more nationally televised games for the year after.
