NBA Alter Plans For USMNT's World Cup Opener

Just like the NFL, the NBA is a completely different world from soccer.

There is almost no overlap between them, and they usually compete for viewership during the week, since Major League Soccer matches are played at night, just like NBA games.

Additionally, with the popularity soccer is gaining thanks to players like Lionel Messi, Son Heung-min, and Thomas Müller, MLS has already surpassed MLB in marketing and viewership; nevertheless, it is still slightly behind the NBA.

However, the NBA is not willing to take risks with the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaching and is preparing a change to its schedule that has not occurred since 1970.

NBA Alter Plans For USMNT's World Cup Opener

The dates for the 2025-26 National Basketball Association Finals were officially announced, with the series set to begin on Wednesday, June 3. Since it is not a single-game final, the series will run through Friday, June 19, if it goes to seven games.

However, the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup altered the plans of the National Basketball Association commission.

This change of direction had not happened since 1970, because since that year, the National Basketball Association Finals had always been scheduled for a Sunday.

In addition, this will also be the first time since 1999 that no NBA Finals game will be played on a Sunday.

The Finals will instead be played on Wednesday, Friday, Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday, and Friday of that week.

This decision was made to avoid conflicts in viewership and marketing between the National Basketball Association Finals and the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature three different opening ceremonies across its host countries.

The ceremony in the United States will take place on Friday, June 12, in the city of Los Angeles.

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 2:06 PM.