Fantasy basketball opening week 2026-27: games per team, back-to-backs and who plays 4 or 2
Week 1 runs Oct 19 to 25: Philadelphia plays 4 games, five teams play 2, and Nikola Jokić's 2 games equal 3 from the 22nd player on the board.
By The Parlae deskPublished 7 min read
The shape of week one
The 2026-27 season opens Tuesday, Oct 20, with three games: Boston at Detroit at 3 PM ET, Philadelphia at New York at 7 PM and Oklahoma City at San Antonio at 9:30 PM. Counting a fantasy week as Monday to Sunday, week one runs Oct 19 to Oct 25. There are no games on the Monday, so it is six game days and 43 games.
| Day | Games | Teams playing |
|---|---|---|
| Tue Oct 20 | 3 | 6 |
| Wed Oct 21 | 11 | 22 |
| Thu Oct 22 | 2 | 4 |
| Fri Oct 23 | 12 | 24 |
| Sat Oct 24 | 8 | 16 |
| Sun Oct 25 | 7 | 14 |
Source: ESPN NBA scoreboard, one request per day, pulled Oct 13 2026.
Twenty-four teams play 3 games. Philadelphia plays 4. Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Portland and Phoenix play 2.
All 30 teams in week one
| Team | Week 1 games | Dates and opponents | Back-to-back | Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Through Nov 1 | Top board players |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | 4 | 20 @NYK, 22 CLE, 24 MIL, 25 DET | Oct 24-25 | 3 | 7 | Maxey (6), Brown (10) |
| ATL | 3 | 21 @ORL, 23 @CHA, 24 HOU | Oct 23-24 | 4 | 7 | Jalen Johnson (8) |
| CHA | 3 | 21 @BKN, 23 ATL, 24 MIA | Oct 23-24 | 4 | 7 | Brandon Miller (61) |
| GSW | 3 | 21 @LAL, 23 MEM, 24 @PHX | Oct 23-24 | 4 | 7 | Curry (33) |
| HOU | 3 | 21 DAL, 23 @SAS, 24 @ATL | Oct 23-24 | 4 | 7 | Şengün (15), Durant (20) |
| IND | 3 | 21 @NOP, 23 DAL, 25 @BKN | 4 | 7 | Siakam (28) | |
| LAL | 3 | 21 GSW, 23 LAC, 25 @UTA | 4 | 7 | Dončić (2) | |
| MIN | 3 | 21 @MIA, 23 @ORL, 25 TOR | 4 | 7 | Edwards (14) | |
| BKN | 3 | 21 CHA, 24 @CLE, 25 IND | Oct 24-25 | 3 | 6 | Michael Porter (35) |
| CHI | 3 | 21 @TOR, 23 @MIL, 24 WAS | Oct 23-24 | 3 | 6 | Giddey (21) |
| DAL | 3 | 21 @HOU, 23 @IND, 24 SAS | Oct 23-24 | 3 | 6 | Flagg (32) |
| DET | 3 | 20 BOS, 23 @MIA, 25 @PHI | 3 | 6 | Cunningham (7) | |
| LAC | 3 | 21 SAC, 23 @LAL, 25 @OKC | 3 | 6 | Ingram (46) | |
| MEM | 3 | 21 UTA, 23 @GSW, 25 @SAC | 3 | 6 | Jerami Grant (110) | |
| MIA | 3 | 21 MIN, 23 DET, 24 @CHA | Oct 23-24 | 3 | 6 | Antetokounmpo (5) |
| MIL | 3 | 21 @WAS, 23 CHI, 24 @PHI | Oct 23-24 | 3 | 6 | Kevin Porter (30) |
| NOP | 3 | 21 IND, 23 @UTA, 24 @DEN | Oct 23-24 | 3 | 6 | Murphy (41) |
| NYK | 3 | 20 PHI, 23 @BOS, 25 ORL | 3 | 6 | Brunson (26) | |
| OKC | 3 | 20 @SAS, 22 DEN, 25 LAC | 3 | 6 | Gilgeous-Alexander (4) | |
| ORL | 3 | 21 ATL, 23 MIN, 25 @NYK | 3 | 6 | Banchero (25) | |
| SAC | 3 | 21 @LAC, 23 POR, 25 MEM | 3 | 6 | Keegan Murray (90) | |
| SAS | 3 | 20 OKC, 23 HOU, 24 @DAL | Oct 23-24 | 3 | 6 | Wembanyama (3) |
| TOR | 3 | 21 CHI, 23 @WAS, 25 @MIN | 3 | 6 | Leonard (9) | |
| UTA | 3 | 21 @MEM, 23 NOP, 25 LAL | 3 | 6 | Markkanen (23) | |
| WAS | 3 | 21 MIL, 23 TOR, 24 @CHI | Oct 23-24 | 3 | 6 | Anthony Davis (13) |
| BOS | 2 | 20 @DET, 23 NYK | 4 | 6 | Derrick White (47) | |
| CLE | 2 | 22 @PHI, 24 BKN | 4 | 6 | Mitchell (12) | |
| DEN | 2 | 22 @OKC, 24 NOP | 3 | 5 | Jokić (1) | |
| POR | 2 | 21 PHX, 23 @SAC | 3 | 5 | Avdija (17) | |
| PHX | 2 | 21 @POR, 24 GSW | 2 | 4 | Booker (31) |
Source: ESPN NBA scoreboard, Oct 19 to Nov 1 2026, pulled Oct 13 2026; "@" marks a road game. Top board player is the team's highest points rank on the Parlae board, Oct 13 2026.
Thirteen teams have a back-to-back in week one. Eleven fall on Friday and Saturday, Oct 23 and 24; Brooklyn's and Philadelphia's fall on Oct 24 and 25.
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The players with 4 games and with 2
Among the board's top 60 in points, 4 players get 4 games, 11 get 2 and the other 45 get 3.
| Points rank | Player | Team | FP/G | Week 1 games | FP/G x games | 9-cat rank | Status today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikola Jokić | DEN | 62.1 | 2 | 124.2 | 1 | |
| 6 | Tyrese Maxey | PHI | 48.6 | 4 | 194.4 | 5 | |
| 10 | Jaylen Brown | PHI | 45.2 | 4 | 180.8 | 56 | DTD (rest) |
| 11 | Joel Embiid | PHI | 44.5 | 4 | 178.0 | 22 | DTD (rest) |
| 12 | Donovan Mitchell | CLE | 44.3 | 2 | 88.6 | 7 | |
| 16 | Jamal Murray | DEN | 42.9 | 2 | 85.8 | 9 | |
| 17 | Deni Avdija | POR | 42.9 | 2 | 85.8 | 67 | |
| 18 | James Harden | CLE | 42.4 | 2 | 84.8 | 23 | |
| 22 | LeBron James | PHI | 41.4 | 4 | 165.6 | 43 | DTD (rest) |
| 29 | Evan Mobley | CLE | 39.9 | 2 | 79.8 | 41 | |
| 31 | Devin Booker | PHX | 39.9 | 2 | 79.8 | 63 | DTD (rest) |
| 45 | Ja Morant | POR | 35.8 | 2 | 71.6 | 147 | |
| 47 | Derrick White | BOS | 35.3 | 2 | 70.6 | 29 | |
| 50 | Donovan Clingan | POR | 34.7 | 2 | 69.4 | 30 | |
| 60 | Paul George | BOS | 33.7 | 2 | 67.4 | 33 |
Source: Parlae fantasy basketball board and ESPN schedule, Oct 13 2026. FP/G is 2025-26 per game; the product is arithmetic, not a projection. Status is Sleeper's designation on Oct 13 2026.
The arithmetic is plain. Jokić's 2 games at 62.1 come to 124.2, exactly what 3 games from a 41.4 FP/G player produce, and 41.4 is LeBron James, 22nd on the board. Maxey's 4 games come to 194.4. Cleveland's three top-30 players and Denver's two top-16 players all sit at 2.
In 9-cat leagues the same split applies to seven categories. Points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, threes and turnovers all grow with games. FG% and FT% do not.
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Philadelphia's four games
Philadelphia is the only team with 4, and, with Oklahoma City, one of two teams that play on both of the week's light days, Oct 20 and Oct 22. The Sixers close the week with a back-to-back: Milwaukee at home Saturday, then Detroit at home Sunday.
Philadelphia has five players in the board's top 156: Maxey (6th), Brown (10th), Embiid (11th), LeBron James (22nd) and VJ Edgecombe (64th). Sleeper lists Brown, Embiid and James DTD with rest designations today, preseason tags rather than injuries. Embiid played 38 games last season. A schedule tells you when a back-to-back falls, not who plays the second night, so count the fourth game as possible rather than certain for any player whose minutes are managed.
Light days and heavy days
Two days are light: Tuesday, Oct 20 (6 teams) and Thursday, Oct 22 (4 teams: Cleveland, Philadelphia, Denver, Oklahoma City). In a daily-lineup league with a deep bench, players on those days fill lineup spots that would otherwise sit empty. Oklahoma City and Philadelphia are the two teams that play on both.
Two days are heavy: Wednesday, Oct 21 (22 teams) and Friday, Oct 23 (24 teams). On a 24-team night, most of a roster has a game, and in leagues with fewer active spots than rostered players, someone with a game sits. That is the day a 3-game player effectively becomes a 2-game player on your team.
If your first matchup runs through Nov 1
Some leagues fold the opening days into a longer first matchup. Through Sunday, Nov 1, eight teams play 7 games: Philadelphia, Atlanta, Charlotte, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, the Lakers and Minnesota. Denver and Portland play 5, and Phoenix plays 4, with 2 in each week. Boston and Cleveland make up their light first week with 4 games from Oct 26 to Nov 1. The schedule guide has every team's back-to-backs for the season.
What it means on draft day
- Do not let week one move an early pick. It is one week. Jokić is still the board's first pick with 2 games; see who to draft first overall.
- Use it to break ties late. Between two players a few spots apart in the later rounds, take the one with 3 or 4 games over the one with 2 if your league's first week counts. Check your platform's week one dates first.
- Set week-one lineups by games. In weekly-lineup leagues, a 3-game bench player can outscore a 2-game starter: Mitchell's 2 games at 44.3 come to 88.6, about what 3 games from a 29.5 FP/G player produce, the level of Nic Claxton, 94th on the board.
- Watch the rest tags. The injury page updates from Sleeper, and the streaming guide covers light-day pickups for the rest of the season. The full order is on the points rankings.
Sources
- NBA 2026-27 regular-season schedule as published by the league, read day by day from ESPN's NBA scoreboard (site.web.api.espn.com) for Oct 19 to Nov 1 2026, pulled Oct 13 2026; dates and tip times in Eastern time
- Parlae fantasy basketball board, Oct 13 2026 (parlae.io/fantasy/nba/rankings), built from Sleeper's 2025-26 NBA season totals
- Sleeper NBA player file (api.sleeper.app/v1/players/nba) for teams and injury designations, pulled Oct 13 2026
- Week 1 here is Monday Oct 19 to Sunday Oct 25. Week-one fantasy points multiply each player's 2025-26 FP/G, as printed, by his team's games that week
By the Parlae deskGuide updated Oct 13, 2026 at 8:00 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number