Adam Silver Cannot Escape Trouble After Decision For 34 OKC Games Backfires

The reigning NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, have been granted the same status as some of the biggest franchises in the league’s history. According to the recently released schedule for the 2025-26 season, the OKC Thunder squad will reportedly play in 34 nationally televised games—matching the Los Angeles Lakers, the Golden State Warriors, and the New York Knicks for the most across the league. Thunderous Intentions reporter, Braxton Reynolds, even wrote, “Thunder finally get the respect they deserve”. But what about the runners-up? Are the Indiana Pacers getting similar coverage?

Not quite. In fact, the contrast couldn’t be starker. The Pacers, despite making an improbable Finals run last season and taking the Thunder to seven games, are being pushed out of the national spotlight. This season marks the first year under the NBA’s revamped media rights deal involving NBC, Peacock, and Prime Video alongside ESPN. Naturally, fans expected a shake-up in TV exposure, but few anticipated this kind of drop-off for the Eastern Conference champions.

A few hours ago, the official Instagram account of the Indiana Pacers revealed their national TV schedule: just 9 games. A further breakdown by For The Win journalist Bryan Kalbrosky showed that 4 of these will stream on Prime Video, 3 on Peacock, 2 on Cable, 1 on NBC, and another 1 on ESPN. The Instagram post, captioned “national spotlight is on 📺”, felt more ironic than celebratory.

This number is actually a downgrade from the last season. In 2024-25, the Pacers had 14 nationally televised games. Given that this will be the first year of the NBA’s new national media rights deal, some changes were expected. However, as CBS Sports reporter Jasmyn Wimbish said, “It’s a shame because had it not been for Tyrese Haliburton suffering a torn Achilles during the NBA Finals, the Pacers would be far higher on this list. Unfortunately, they’re getting treated as if they never had one of the most memorable NBA Finals runs in league history. Such is life when injuries completely derail your future”.

Tyrese Haliburton had sustained a torn Achilles tendon during Game 7 of the NBA Finals, a devastating blow to the franchise. According to reports, the organization does not expect him back for the next season. With their franchise player sidelined and questions looming over their competitiveness, the league clearly adjusted their national presence—but that explanation hasn’t softened the outrage.

And that’s where the storm truly began. Fans took to social media to voice their frustration, blasting the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver for what they see as blatant disrespect.

NBA fans criticize Adam Silver and Co. for the Indiana Pacers’ injustice

One social media user wrote, “Going to the finals and taking a powerhouse team to 7 games and only getting 9 national TV games is actually ridiculous”. Add the fact that OKC got 34 nationally televised games after having just 25 nationally televised appearances during the 2024-25 season. They had as many games playing on ESPN as the Pacers will have, overall, going into the next season.

Another individual wrote, “Adam silver once again shafting us”. The NBA commissioner had earlier praised the 2025 NBA Finals between the OKC Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. He called it proof that “At the end of the day, we are a league of relatively small markets. The goal is to have a league where every team is in position to compete.” At the same time, Silver also had to come out in defense of the two finalists when the first 2 games of the 2025 NBA Finals did not get enough viewership.

One fan chimed in, saying, “Can’t wait to NOT watch the NBA on Christmas Day or Hanukkah. @adamsilvernba”. The Pacers have several holiday home games this season. This includes traditional home games after Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. The team’s second home game of the season falls on Halloween. However, the Pacers don’t feature in the marquee Christmas slate—something many fans interpret as another sign of the league’s priorities.

A user wrote, “The team that has been denied shut out and defied all odds wok the east against healthy teams and made it to the finals and took a tuff okc to game 7 in the finals and we get 9 freaking tv games type type😂😂 its getting ridiculous”. Wait till that netizen finds out that the Dallas Mavericks, which did not even qualify for the playoffs last season, get 23 nationally televised games.

One social media user wrote, “The disrespect and hate by the nba towards the pacers is crazy🙈🙈😂😂”. Although that isn’t true but this unfair treatment received by the Pacers can make the fans question the sanctity of the league.

Overall, the majority of reactions saw fans united in criticizing the decision to give the Indiana Pacers only 9 nationally televised games. Whether Adam Silver chooses to address this outrage in the coming days is something that remains to be seen.