NBA Schedule This Week: Who Will Come Away With the NBA Cup Trophy?

Some strange things happened last week in the NBA.

The Thunder lost a game. The Pelicans won two in a row. The Heat have seemingly lost their sizzle.

In the coming week, we’re gonna get an NBA Cup champion. But that’s not remotely as interesting as this: Trade season officially starts today, as most free agents acquired in the offseason are eligible to be traded starting December 15.

If you’re an NBA devotee, here’s what you should be checking out during the ninth week of the 2025–2026 NBA season. I’ve picked two must-watch games and compiled the entire Week 9 TV schedule below.

Jump to:

• National NBA game of the week
• NBA League Pass game of the week
• NBA schedule this week
• League news and analysis

National NBA game of the week

Honorable mention: 

• Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics (Monday, Dec. 15, 7:00 p.m., Peacock)

NBA League Pass game of the week

Honorable mention: 

• Orlando Magic at Denver Nuggets (Thursday, Dec. 18, 9:00 p.m. ET)

What NBA games are on TV this week?

I feel pretty good about my recommendations for the NBA schedule this week. But if you’re not feeling these, feel free to catch something from the table below. I mapped out the Week 9 TV schedule so you don’t have to spend precious time looking it up.

Data effective as of post date.

Swishes and airballs: My hot takes from NBA Week 8

There was a lot to talk about this week. I won’t make you wait any longer.

Swish: Winning without (and with) Wemby. This is a San Antonio Spurs appreciation item. When Wembanyama went down with a calf injury, it was easy to think the Spurs would struggle and maybe go on a losing streak. In the span of three weeks, they did the opposite.

The Spurs went 9–4 without Wemby—a winning percentage of nearly 70. During that stretch, they beat the Nuggets, Lakers, and Magic. And on his return, they knocked off the best team in the league by a mile.

Yeah, I’m starting to think the Spurs are legit contenders.

Airball: Dillon Brooks. This guy certainly has a reputation for being an annoying and overly aggressive player. But here’s my problem.

Brooks makes a 3-pointer over LeBron James to take a lead late in a game where the Suns were down 20 to the Lakers in the fourth quarter. And instead of keeping his cool and helping his team to what likely could’ve been an incredible comeback win, he bumps James and gets himself ejected.

I’m not saying players shouldn’t show emotion or be competitive and passionate. I get mad at referees when players get punished for giving a little taunt after an amazing play. But that is simply the wrong time for Brooks to do it.

Celebrate on the bench with your teammates. Talk shit after you win. Brooks getting ejected meant that someone else had to guard James in the final seconds of the game. And guess what? Devin Booker fouled James on a 3-point attempt, and James sealed the victory with free throws.

Swish: Steph Curry makes history. The Warriors star put up 48 on the Portland Trail Blazers. In doing so, he broke one of Michael Jordan’s records.

Curry’s stellar game was the 45th time he scored at least 40 after turning 30 years old. Jordan’s record was 44 games, and he was the all-time leader in that stat. That’s pretty amazing.

Curry is 37 years old.

Airball: Strangely, the Golden State Warriors. Curry’s played a couple of games since returning from injury. He scored 39 and 48 in those games, respectively. Both of those efforts came in losses.

After Golden State looked really impressive to start the season, they’ve really taken a turn for the worse. As of this writing, they have a losing record and a lot of star power that, collectively, isn’t getting it done.

Do they make a trade? Do they stay the course and hope things right themselves in a brutal Western Conference? Right now, this team has no chance of making the playoffs, and they might not even make the play-in.

Curry deserves better.

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