NBA preseason action returns to the North with the 2026 NBA Canada Series presented by Bell, featuring the Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat and LA Clippers.
On Saturday, Oct. 3, the Raptors and Heat will meet at Videotron Centre in Québec City in the preseason opener for both teams (7 ET, NBA TV). On Saturday, Oct. 10, the Raptors head to Vancouver to face the Clippers at Rogers Arena (6:30 ET, League Pass).
What is the NBA Canada Series?
The NBA Canada Series presented by Bell began in 2012 and has featured 16 teams playing 20 preseason games in front of over 350,000 fans across six cities. The 2026 NBA Canada Series will mark the first Canada Series game in Québec City and the eighth in Vancouver.
When is the 2026 NBA Canada Series?
The Québec City game between the Raptors and Heat will be held Saturday, Oct. 3, with tip-off at 7 p.m. ET (same as local). The Vancouver game between the Raptors and Clippers will be held the following Saturday, Oct. 10, with tip-off at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. local).
Where will the 2026 NBA Canada Series be played?
The Québec City game marks the first-ever NBA game hosted at the Videotron Center, which opened in 2015. The Vancouver game will once again be played at Rogers Arena, which has hosted each of the previous seven NBA Canada Series games in Vancouver (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2025).
How can I watch the 2026 NBA Canada Series?
The 2026 NBA Canada Series presented by Bell will air live in Canada, the U.S., and around the world on NBA League Pass, reaching fans in more than 200 countries and territories on television, digital media and social media. The Québec City game on Oct. 3 will be broadcast on NBA TV.
What are three key storylines to know entering this year’s Canada Series?
1. Kawhi’s return to the Raptors: For the first time in 2,670 days, Kawhi Leonard will take the court as a member of the Toronto Raptors. The last time it happened was June 13, 2019, when he was named Finals MVP after leading the Raptors to their first NBA title.
Kawhi Leonard had the highest-scoring season of his career at 27.9 points per game in 2025-26.
The Raptors finalized a trade with the Clippers on Sept. 14 to bring Leonard back to The North, eyeing another championship run. He joins a Toronto team that finished fifth in the Eastern Conference last season, but fell in the first round of the playoffs in a seven-game series with Cleveland. The Canada series will give fans their first two looks at Leonard playing alongside a new Raptors core that includes Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.
“I’m excited to be back,” Leonard said at Toronto’s media day on Monday. “The team played amazing last year. I like to be in a winning environment and I think they give me that here.”
His new teammates are eager to share the court with Leonard, a former two-time Defensive Player of the Year who is coming off the highest-scoring season of his career at 27.9 points per game.
“Especially off the season that he just had, I think everybody is very confident in his ability to be that kind of superstar that he is,” Barrett said. “I think he’s a Hall of Fame player.”
2. Giannis’ preseason debut with the Heat: After a legendary 13-season run in Milwaukee — which included 10 All-Star appearances, nine All-NBA selections, two MVPs, one Defensive Player of the Year, one Most Improved Player, one NBA Cup title and MVP in 2024, and one NBA title run and Finals MVP in 2021 — Giannis Antetokounmpo will don a different jersey for the first time in his career as he makes his Miami Heat preseason debut in Québec City on Oct. 3.
For the first time in his career, Giannis is suiting up for a new team.
“This is all new for me,” Antetokounmpo said Monday at his first Heat media day. “I’m trying to learn defense. I’m learning offenses. I am trying to fit in the locker room with new faces. I’m trying to be able to play with players that I’ve never played before. It’s all new for me. It’s exciting. I know that I’m going to put in the work. Succeed or fail, I’m going to fail by working, or succeed by working. And the goal is to win a championship. That’s the goal.”
“We brought him here for a reason. He’s here for a reason,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “We want him to establish himself in that conversation of being the best player in the league and that can be debated in a lot of different ways. But we’re not bringing him here to take a step back, so we’ll try to maximize his strengths as much as we can and get him as comfortable as possible.”
3. Early impression of the new-look Clippers: After trading James Harden to Cleveland at last year’s deadline and trading Leonard to Toronto this summer, the Clippers are in a new chapter. Following their preseason opener against the Warriors in Hawaii, the Clippers will head to Vancouver to take on the Raptors.
The Clippers selected Wagler with the 5th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
As LA begins this new era, keep an eye on a pair of No. 5s — Keaton Wagler, the No. 5 pick in the 2026 Draft, and Darius Garland, the No. 5 pick in the 2019 Draft, whom the Clippers acquired in the Harden deal in February.
“I’m super excited about him,” said Garland of Wagler at Monday’s media day. “He’s super eager to learn … he teaches me a lot, and I teach him a lot. So it’s super cool to have that interaction with someone who’s been in the same position.”
While the Clippers will be without Brandon Ingram, who they acquired from Toronto in the Leonard trade, as he recovers from heel surgery, LA added more veterans this summer to complement their new backcourt duo. That includes Rui Hachimura, Max Strus and Gradey Dick, who all have playoff experience in recent years.
Where can I purchase tickets for the 2026 NBA Canada Series?
Limited tickets remain available for both games of this year’s Canada Series. Click here for tickets to the Québec City game on Oct. 3 and click here for tickets to the Vancouver game on Oct. 10.
Which teams have played in the NBA Canada Series in previous years?
• 2012: Raptors 107, Knicks 88 (Oct. 19, Montreal), Timberwolves 95, Pistons 76 (Oct. 24, Winnipeg)
• 2013: Timberwolves 104, Celtics 89 (Oct. 20, Montreal)
• 2014: Raptors 99, Kings 94 (Oct. 5, Vancouver), Raptors 83, Knicks 80 (Oct. 24, Montreal)
• 2015: Raptors 93, Clippers 73 (Oct. 4, Vancouver), Bulls 114, Timberwolves 105 (Oct. 10, Winnipeg), Timberwolves 89, Raptors 87 (Oct. 14, Ottawa), Raptors 92, Wizards 82 (Oct. 23, Montreal)
• 2016: Raptors 97, Warriors 93 (Oct. 1, Vancouver), Nuggets 108, Raptors 106 (Oct. 3, Calgary)
• 2018: Raptors 122, Blazers 104 (Sep. 29, Vancouver), Raptors 118, Nets 91 (Oct. 10, Montreal)
• 2019: Mavericks 102, Clippers 87 (Oct. 17, Vancouver)
• 2022: Raptors 114, Jazz 82 (Oct. 2, Edmonton), Raptors 137, Celtics 134 (Oct. 14, Montreal)
• 2023: Raptors 112, Kings 99 (Oct. 8, Vancouver), Pistons 128, Thunder 125 (Oct. 12, Montreal)
• 2024: Raptors 125, Wizards 98 (Oct. 6, Montreal)
• 2025: Nuggets 112, Raptors 108 (Oct. 6, Vancouver)
