The Cleveland Cavaliers will play three preseason games this fall, and two of them now come with national broadcast slots.
The NBA released its 2026 preseason composite schedule on Wednesday, and Cleveland’s Oct. 11 home game against the Orlando Magic will air on ESPN as the front half of a doubleheader, according to the league’s announcement.
The 2026 NBA Preseason composite schedule is below.
ESPN and ESPN2 will televise five matchups: Sacramento at the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 8; San Antonio at Phoenix on Oct. 10; an Oct. 11 doubleheader featuring Orlando at Cleveland and Chicago at Denver; and Denver at the Los… pic.twitter.com/JUoN20ISvA
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) September 9, 2026
The rematch in Orlando two nights later lands on Peacock.
Cavs preseason schedule 2026
- Oct. 8 — vs. Boston Celtics, Rocket Arena (preseason opener; local broadcast TBD)
- Oct. 11 — vs. Orlando Magic, Rocket Arena, 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
- Oct. 13 — at Orlando Magic, Kia Center, 7 p.m. ET, Peacock
The Boston opener was set when the full 2026-27 schedule came out in August. Tip times for the two Orlando games come from the national TV slate
.Cleveland then opens the regular season Oct. 22 in Philadelphia and hosts Brooklyn in the home opener on Oct. 24.
Training camp comes first
Before the Boston game, the Cavs will hold training camp from Sept. 30 through Oct. 5 at The Embassy in Fuengirola, Spain, with media day on Sept. 28.
President of basketball operations Koby Altman said the setting was chosen to help the group “prepare, connect and build the habits and chemistry” for the season ahead.
The team returns with three days to spare before the opener, then plays three games in six days.
What the preseason will show
The Oct. 11 game is the first time anyone outside the practice facility sees Peyton Watson next to Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.
Cleveland acquired the forward from Denver on Aug. 19 in a five-team sign-and-trade on a four-year, $88 million contract. Watson averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season while shooting 41.1 percent from three, according to Basketball-Reference.
With Max Strus, Dean Wade and Dennis Schroder all gone from last year’s rotation, his role is the biggest question the exhibitions can start to answer.
The bottom of the roster is the other storyline. Harden’s new deal became official on Sept. 8, and the cap gymnastics required to fit it under Cleveland’s first-apron hard cap left the team with 14 standard contracts and a 15th spot it may not be able to fill until later in the season.
That means camp invitees are competing for a job that might open in the spring, not on opening night. Second-round pick Meleek Thomas, who led Las Vegas Summer League at 27.3 points per game and made the All-Summer League First Team already holds a standard deal and is instead auditioning for rotation minutes.
One caution on reading results: the Cavs went 1-3 in last year’s preseason, including a 31-point loss at Boston, and then won 52 games. Watch the reps, not the scores.
This page will be updated as broadcast details and results are finalized.
