The Lakers will, once again, lead the NBA in national TV appearances with 39

The full schedule for the 2024-25 NBA season has been released, and the Los Angeles Lakers have at least one claim to fame. They will once again lead the league in national television appearances.

Between ESPN, TNT, ABC and NBA TV, the Lakers will have 39 of their 82 games (48%) nationally televised, per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. Close behind are the Golden State Warriors with 36, followed by the reigning champions Boston Celtics and New York Knicks with 34 each.

The Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns both follow with 30. Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons, Portland Trail Blazers and Toronto Raptors are tied for last place, with four games each.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because the Lakers have been either first or second in the NBA in nationally televised games since LeBron James came to town for the 2019-20 season. However, this is the first time they’ve topped the list since 2021-22, as the Warriors have surpassed them the past two years.

This is clearly not a reflection of meritocracy. The Lakers haven’t won a title since 2020 and are coming off a first-round humiliation at the hands of the Denver Nuggets in last year’s playoffs. Networks want good teams on their rosters, but they want big names. That’s why it makes much more sense for the Warriors to be in second place after missing the playoffs if you replace their name with Stephen Curry.

The Lakers aren’t without intrigue for the upcoming season either, thanks to the addition of James’ son Bronny and the hiring of his podcast partner JJ Redick as head coach. LeBron and Bronny will be the first father-son duo on the court in NBA history when Bronny steps onto the court, and you can bet the TV networks will want to broadcast that moment.

The core of the team hasn’t changed much this offseason, though, so broadcasters may be expecting more of the same results as last year unless Redick proves to be much better than Darvin Ham.