The Portland Trail Blazers franchise is trending in the right direction from top to bottom. Judging by the recent release of the 2025-26 schedule, it looks like the NBA agrees with that assessment.

The last two seasons, Portland has had a total of just two nationally televised games, both of which were Damian Lillard's return to the Moda Center. That's obviously out of the equation with Lillard back home, where he belongs. Despite that, Portland received eight nationally televised games (six on NBC, one on Peacock, and one on Amazon Prime).

Here are those eight games:

The Blazers have just one fewer nationally televised game than the Indiana Pacers -- the team that was literally in the NBA Finals last season. That's despite Lillard being expected to miss the entirety of the 2025-26 season as he recovers from his Achilles injury.

The Blazers have a promising young core that continues to develop and was primarily responsible for their 15-win improvement from the previous season. This offseason, general manager Joe Cronin also made calculated moves to clear the path for this young core -- particularly former top ten picks Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe -- which should bring more excitement to the roster. Joining that young core is unconventional first-round pick Yang Hansen, who just had 5.2 million people in China tune in to watch a summer league game. Oh, and they also now have a new owner, Tom Dundon, who has had success in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Portland is a gritty, young, and athletic team that has bought into the defensive side of the ball. Chauncey Billups' vision has rubbed off on this roster, and they will be a tough out for any team, even in the Western Conference. The NBA seems to know that, and soon others will discover on a national stage what makes this team so pesky to play against.