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The 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs is a great showcase for the league, but the series features a rare scheduling quirk.
Normally, the NBA would schedule one of the first few games for Sunday night during a premier window for sports viewership. However, this year, the league opted to forego the Sunday game in favor of Friday night and Monday night games.
Knicks fans are desperately waiting for their first NBA Finals home game since 1999, an it will finally come on Monday in New York. Here's why there isn't a game on Sunday night.
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Is the NBA Finals on today?
There is not an NBA Finals game scheduled for Sunday, as Game 3 is set to take place on Monday, June 8. As the series shifts from San Antonio to New York, the league gave both the Knicks and the Spurs an extra day to accommodate the travel that took place after Friday's Game 3.
The NBA scheduled the series with two days off between games whenever the teams have to travel and just one day off if they don't have to travel.
MORE: How Karl-Anthony Towns became Finals MVP frontrunner with big Game 2
Why isn't there an NBA Finals game on Sunday?
The NBA Finals has always had a game scheduled for a Sunday, but that isn't the case this year. It marks just the third time in NBA history that the NBA Finals didn't include a Sunday game and, ironically, the first two also involved the Knicks.
There is no NBA Finals game tomorrow (or on any Sunday this year). The only other years without a Sunday game in NBA Finals:
1999 (Spurs 4-1 vs Knicks)
1970 (Knicks 4-3 vs Lakers)
The 1999 NBA Finals did not have a Sunday game because the Spurs beat the Knicks in five before Game 6 would've been on Sunday. Therefore, only the 1970 NBA Finals previously avoided any Sunday games in its schedule.
The reasoning for this is because the NBA wanted to avoid any scheduling conflicts with the World Cup, specifically in regards to the USMNT's contests. The rhythm of the adjusted schedule means Game 3 is on a Monday and Game 5 is on a Saturday instead of the league putting one of those games on a Sunday.
MORE: How errant pass from Victor Wembanyama ended Spurs' Game 2 comeback
NBA Finals 2026 schedule
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV Channel |
| June 3 | Game 1: Knicks 105, Spurs 95 | -- | -- |
| June 5 | Game 2: Knicks 105, Spurs 104 | -- | -- |
| June 8 | Game 3: Spurs @ Knicks | 8:30 p.m. | ABC |
| June 10 | Game 4: Spurs @ Knicks | 8:30 p.m. | ABC |
| June 13 | Game 5: Knicks @ Spurs | 8:30 p.m. | ABC |
| June 16 | Game 6: Spurs @ Knicks | 8:30 p.m. | ABC |
| June 19 | Game 7: Knicks @ Spurs | 8:30 p.m. | ABC |
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