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NBA ABC Challenge 2026-27 Season Preview · By HoopWrld
Preseason Is Here. Every Big Night Gets a Badge.
Preseason tipped off in Quebec City. Opening night is October 20 — just a few weeks out. We’ve been working hard to get ready for it, and the NBA ABC Challenge is heading into its first full season with a lot of new stuff planned.
Hoopers played more than 10,000 runs in our beta. You told us what you love: naming the deep cut nobody else thought of, and having something to show for what you know. So that’s what we built around. And this season, the game plays along with every big night on the calendar.
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One Night. One Badge.
Every big NBA night gets its own Bonus Challenge: a daily board built around that game. Name a hooper for every letter, hit the theme, and earn a badge that only exists that day. Midnight to midnight, your local time. Miss the day, miss the badge. No reruns.
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Preseason Goes Global
NBA fans don’t live in one city. Neither does this preseason. Quebec City is already in the books. Honolulu’s board is live today. Macao is next.
Oct 3 · Quebec City
Heat vs Raptors. Giannis in a Heat jersey.
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Oct 4 · Honolulu
Warriors vs Clippers.
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Oct 9 · Macao
Rockets vs Mavs. Name 3 active from Houston or Dallas.
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The board resets at your midnight, wherever you are. A hooper in Toronto, one in Manila and one in Mexico City all get the same board, the same day, the same shot at the badge.
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Opening Week
| Oct 20 |
Opening Night. 53 years in the making. Name the ones who ended it. |
| Oct 21 |
New Giannis Era. Heat vs Wolves. Name the active players. |
| Oct 22 |
LeBron’s Final Chapter. Name players from his teams: Cavs, Heat, Lakers, 76ers. |
| Oct 23 |
Austin. Spurs vs Rockets, Texas on a neutral floor. |
| Oct 28 |
Road Trippin’. Perk, RJ and Channing’s title teams. If you know the ’08 Celtics, the ’11 Mavs and the ’16 Cavs, this one’s yours. |
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Then It Keeps Traveling
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Nov 1 · Vatican City. Villanova’s most famous grad lives there now. Name 3 Villanova players. |
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Nov 7 · Mexico City. Nuggets vs Pacers in CDMX. |
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The NBA Cup Run: Ten Badges
Seven group-stage nights, Oct 30 through Black Friday, each with its own badge. Then the knockout rounds get theirs too: quarterfinals, semifinals and the final. Ten badges in all. Collect the set and your Trophy Case shows you were there every night it mattered.
 Oct 30
Hornets · Wizards |
 Nov 6
Cavs · 76ers |
 Nov 13
Jazz · Rockets |
 Nov 20
Raptors · Pistons |
 Nov 24
Mavs · Nuggets |
 Nov 25 · Thanksgiving
Wolves · Thunder |
 Nov 27 · Black Friday
Knicks · Heat |
+3 Knockout rounds
QF · SF · Final |
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Circle January 10
GROAT night. Kyle Lowry and the 2019 Raptors. More on that closer to tip. And there’s one more badge we’re not talking about yet.
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Your Trophy Case Is Who You Are
A badge isn’t a score. It’s proof of what you know.
The hooper with Vatican City knows Villanova. The hooper with Road Trippin’ knows three title teams most fans forgot. The hooper with every Cup badge showed up every night it mattered. Put it together and your Trophy Case says what kind of fan you are: Y2K savant, Pioneers-era historian, deep-cut hunter, the one who never misses a night.
That’s what we’ve been building toward all summer, and there’s a lot more new stuff coming this season. We’ll roll it out as we go.
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Get In Before Tip-Off
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Play free at play.hoopwrld.com. Open Gym has no clock and no lives. Play it all you want. |
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Claim your free account so your badges stay yours and each day’s board lands in your inbox. |
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Claim before the All-Star break and earn a Founder badge. It won’t be offered again. |
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Bonus Challenge dates follow the NBA schedule and may change. HoopWrld is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NBA or any of its teams.
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Legacy Basketball Journal
Track your game, your goals, and your growth — the journal built for hoopers.
Get it on Amazon →
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Performance Cards
Drill-by-drill training cards that turn practice into progress.
Get it on Amazon →
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