Nearly four months after the Oklahoma City Thunder lifted their first-ever NBA championship, basketball is officially back — and it’s back in style.
The offseason saw several shocks. Remember Myles Turner leaving the Pacers for the Milwaukee Bucks, or the Celtics offloading Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
But everything is behind now as the spotlight has shifted to the real action on the court. And it started with the NBA’s action-packed opening-night doubleheader of Rockets vs. Thunder and Lakers vs. Warriors on Oct. 21.
The 2025-26 NBA season tipped off with fireworks, nostalgia, and record-breaking fan engagement.
NBA Season Opener Doubleheader Pulls Massive Numbers
In one of the league’s most talked-about media moves, the NBA made its long-awaited return to NBC after a 24-year hiatus. The network last aired games in 2002, and its comeback marks a new era under the league’s blockbuster 11-year, $77 billion media-rights deal.
The new package brings ESPN back as a key broadcast partner, while NBC and Amazon replace Warner Bros. Discovery.
For fans, that means more platforms, more accessibility, and a heavy dose of nostalgia — complete with the iconic Roundball Rock theme that once defined NBC’s NBA coverage in the 1990s.
And if opening night was any indication, the return didn’t just live up to the hype, it shattered expectations.
According to the NBA, the season’s action-packed opening-night doubleheader across NBC and Peacock drew record-breaking attention on social media, dominating online conversations all night long.
Opening night produced the league’s most-viewed tip-off ever, with more than 600 million views and counting across all official and third-party social accounts, according to Videocites.
The NBA on NBC and Peacock broadcasts occupied 9 of the top 10 and 19 of the top 20 trending topics at different points throughout the evening, which is a testament to how strongly fans connected with the league’s nostalgic new era.
At multiple points, the NBA itself became the No. 1 trending topic globally, with standout performances from Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, Houston’s Alperen Sengun, and the Los Angeles Lakers all hitting the top spot during the doubleheader.
Meanwhile, hashtags like #NBAonNBC, Roundball Rock, and simply “NBA” trended for seven consecutive hours, as fans celebrated the league’s high-energy return to national TV.
Across X, a staggering 57 unique NBA-related topics trended in the top 30 between 6:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. ET, which again is an unprecedented surge in engagement that reflects both the league’s star power and fans’ excitement for the new broadcast era.
The NBA couldn’t have scripted a better reintroduction. Between the thunderous nostalgia of NBC’s broadcast, the big-market matchups between the teams like the Lakers and Warriors, and the record-setting online buzz, the league’s return felt historic.
For Adam Silver and the league office, this opening night was more of a statement rather than trends and engagement. The NBA is stepping into its new media era stronger than ever, blending traditional broadcasting with online streaming innovation in a way that’s resonating across generations.
And if 600 million opening-night views are just the beginning, this season could be one of the most-watched in NBA history.
