NBA makes its stance on Spurs crystal clear with latest schedule release

The NBA finally released its long-awaited 2025-26 schedule, and an interesting development has caught many people's attention. The San Antonio Spurs, considered to be an up-and-coming team, have a staggering 22 nationally televised games.

That is a far cry from just a couple of seasons ago and a sign that the NBA believes they will be much improved next year. That could turn out to be a wise gamble for the league.

They have superstars Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox, who will be able to play more than the five games they played together last season. Having both stars healthy at the same time should dramatically increase their floor.

Meanwhile, young players such as Stephon Castle and Jeremy Sochan leveling up would be huge. The additions of lottery picks Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant should also help to increase their ceiling.

The San Antonio Spurs will be in the spotlight more next season.

Those pieces could make the Spurs a sleeper in the West, giving them a strong chance to make the playoffs. A lot will depend on how good Wembanyama is next season.

He averaged a stellar 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks, even while playing with the then-undiagnosed deep vein thrombosis, which negatively affected his stamina. Wembanyama hasn't played a game since February and could have rust to start next season.

But if he is fully healthy, then he could easily be 10% better than he was last year. That's a scary thought for the rest of the league and could make for can't-miss basketball for the NBA's broadcast partners.

The NBA is making Victor Wembanyama the next face of the league

Wembanyama is already an international superstar heading into his third year in the NBA, and the league should get his face out there as much as possible to try and grow the game. Since he made his NBA debut, ratings have been up by 26% in his home country of France, giving the league a large pool of potential viewers to appeal to.

With new partnerships with Amazon Prime and Peacock, which have 240 million and 41 million subscribers worldwide, respectively, putting the Spurs games on those platforms seems like a great idea to grow the game. Also, to help make Wembanyama the next face of the NBA.

All in all, the Spurs are getting a staggering 22 nationally televised games next season. That is a sign that the league believes in San Antonio and that fans should keep a close eye on them next season.