In a sport where a single player can significantly impact a team’s success, there has been no benefactor in recent memory as great as the San Antonio Spurs.

One of the many tangible effects of Victor Wembanyama’s arrival is the increased national attention the Spurs are receiving. Just a few seasons ago, few outside eyes were on the Silver & Black; the 2022-23 Spurs have appeared on national television just four times – four times more than the season before.

Then Wembanyama came in June of this offseason and everything changed.

The Spurs had 19 nationally televised games last season, and the league seems content to continue to feature its fastest-rising superstar. Including NBA TV, San Antonio will be featured on national television 21 times during the 2024-25 NBA season.

READ MORE: Spurs win 21 games on national television in Wembanyama’s second season

From San Antonio to Los Angeles, from New York to Paris: the major broadcasters will be following “Silver & Black” not only on the American continent, but also on the other side of the pond.

Of those 21 nationally televised games, here are five of the most notable:

Just like last season, the Spurs will open their season on national television against their northern rival.

In front of ESPN’s cameras, the Mavericks pulled out a narrow 126-119 victory in last season’s game at Frost Bank Center. This time, San Antonio and Dallas will meet at the American Airlines Center on TNT – the first game of a doubleheader on the network, followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s game against the Denver Nuggets.

These two teams will face each other at the end of the NBA’s opening day, meaning that Wembanyama and Luka Doncić’s season debuts will be saved until last.

It’s no surprise that the NBA is rostering the two Texas superstars for the opening games, giving Wembanyama and Doncić a chance to remind the league how electrifying they can be.

Kickoff for this competition is scheduled for October 24th at 6:30 p.m. Central Time.

After the first NBA Cup edition last season was a resounding success, the second edition will feature a clash on ESPN that can be seen as a kind of baton handover between the former and possible future face of the league.

It’s not often that megastars from the past and the future meet. That’s only natural, because there have not been many players in NBA history with as much influence as LeBron James, Michael Jordan and other legends. But when such duels do happen, the images, sounds and results are captured forever.

READ MORE: Behind Spurs’ historic losing streak and home win

This does not mean that Wembanyama will reach that level, but those who have followed even a fraction of his basketball career probably thought that he may get there. This duel against James, the personification of this rarely reached basketball pinnacle, can easily go down in NBA history as a battle between two different eras of superstars.

Kickoff for this competition is scheduled for November 15th at 6:30 p.m. Central Time.

For the eleventh time ever – and the first since 2016 – the Spurs will work on Santa Claus’ only day off.

In addition, San Antonio travels to the Mecca of Christmas basketball, as the Knicks have played the most Christmas games of any NBA team (54 times).

READ MORE: Is the NBA sending a message with its Christmas program?

The Spurs and Knicks play at 11 a.m. Central Time on ESPN, which is not surprising for two reasons:

New York has opened its Christmas Day games for the third year in a row, and the start time of the first game suits another prominent NBA audience: France, where the game kicks off at 6 p.m. local time. Few evening television programs can match the prominence of France’s biggest basketball star playing in the world’s most famous arena.

The list of NBA stars who have put on unforgettable performances at Madison Square Garden on Christmas is incredibly long. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Bernard King scoring 60 points at Madison Square Garden on Christmas Day. Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving and Patrick Ewing all made game-winning shots on the holiday. Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant each had multiple monster games at the Garden.

This season, Wembanyama has the chance to put his name on both lists.

Play is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. Central Time on Christmas Day.

The NBA has held regular season and preseason games in Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines and across Europe, but chances are this year’s competitions in France will be the most eagerly awaited of all.

Wembanyama and the Spurs will travel to Paris in late January for a two-game series against the Pacers. While San Antonio had a French superstar (Tony Parker) on its last visit to France in 2006, the celebrations will likely be even bigger for Wembanyama’s homecoming 18 years later.

READ MORE: Behind Victor Wembanyama’s impending return to France

“Playing in Paris has been an incredible experience for our organization in the past and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of the 2025 NBA Paris Games,” San Antonio Spurs CEO and President RC Buford said in April. “We are excited to continue to honor that legacy by intentionally connecting and engaging with our fans in France on and off the court.”

Wembanyama’s return leg in France is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. Central Time on January 23.

Unlike most of San Antonio’s nationally televised games, Wembanyama will not be in the spotlight when Phoenix visits the Lone Star State in late February.

For the first time since February 28, 2007, former Texas Longhorn Kevin Durant will play an organized basketball game in Austin when the Suns play the Spurs at the Moody Center, home of the Longhorns’ men’s and women’s basketball teams.

READ MORE: Spurs want to find “balance” in expansion in Austin

Few NBA players can say they’ve played a professional game in the same arena they played college football in, but this year Durant can say that. Although the Moody Center didn’t exist when Durant was in college—the arena opened in 2022—the Slim Reaper will return to his college days.

“Having Kevin Durant join us for a TNT night game is just a validation of all the hard work our group has put into the Austin-area plans,” said Brandon James, SVP of Strategic Growth for Spurs Sports & Entertainment. “We’re excited for fans to experience that atmosphere once again.”

This game is part of a two-game series in Austin, as the Spurs will play the Detroit Pistons at the Moody Center one day after facing the Suns. However, unless the Pistons miraculously turn things around and catapult themselves into the playoffs, the game between San Antonio and Phoenix will likely generate a lot more excitement.

Kickoff of the first game is scheduled for February 20 at 8:30 p.m. Central Time.