Winter Storm Disrupts NBA Schedule, Forces Early Tipoffs and Postponements

A massive winter storm affecting millions across the United States is forcing the NBA to change start times, postpone games, and adjust travel plans as dangerous conditions spread across multiple regions.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ road game against the Charlotte Hornets, originally set for Monday night, has been rescheduled to a 3 p.m. ET tipoff after the NBA announced the change Sunday due to inclement weather affecting large portions of the East Coast. The game had been scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The league also made a similar adjustment to another matchup, moving the Indiana Pacers’ visit to the Atlanta Hawks to a 1:30 p.m. ET start on Monday from its original 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff.

The NBA confirmed both changes publicly on social media Sunday afternoon with the statement:
“SCHEDULE UPDATE FOR MONDAY, JAN. 26:
The Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks game will now tip off at 1:30 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.
The Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets game will now tip off at 3 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.”

SCHEDULE UPDATE FOR MONDAY, JAN. 26:

The Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks game will now tip off at 1:30 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.

The Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets game will now tip off at 3 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 25, 2026

Philadelphia enters the matchup with a 24–20 record after a 112–109 loss to the New York Knicks on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Joel Embiid scored 38 points in the loss. He will miss Monday’s game against the Hornets due to a left knee injury, officially listed as “left knee injury management.” Paul George will also miss the game with the same designation of left knee injury management.

The updated injury report directly affected sportsbook odds for the afternoon game in Charlotte. DraftKings listed Philadelphia at +2.5 (-104) and Charlotte at -2.5 (-119), with a moneyline of 76ers +124 and Hornets -148, and a total of 227.5 points. FanDuel posted the same 2.5-point spread with odds of 76ers +2.5 (-106) and Hornets -2.5 (-114), a moneyline of +120 for Philadelphia and -142 for Charlotte, and a 227.5 total. BetMGM listed Charlotte at -2.5 (-115) and Philadelphia at +2.5 (-105), with a moneyline of +120 / -145 and a total of 227.5. Caesars posted Charlotte at -3.0 (-110) and Philadelphia at +3.0 (-110), with a moneyline of 76ers +122 and Hornets -145, and a total of 227.5.

RotoWire confirmed both Embiid and George were ruled out for Monday with the designation of left knee injury management. Sports Illustrated reported that the game is on the front end of a back-to-back for Philadelphia and that Embiid has not played in a back-to-back in multiple seasons. LaMelo Ball was not listed on the injury report for Charlotte, and the Hornets’ record this season is 15–21 in games he has played and 3–7 in games he has missed.

Charlotte will be without Mason Plumlee, sidelined following right groin surgery, and KJ Simpson, who is out with a left hip flexor strain.

The storm has changed the Sixers’ travel schedule. Instead of staying in Philadelphia for a Sunday practice before the Monday road trip, the team flew out Saturday night immediately after the loss to the Knicks. Head coach Nick Nurse said Saturday that the team planned to leave after the afternoon home game against New York. A team official later confirmed to Liberty Ballers that the Sixers have already arrived in Charlotte. Philadelphia is scheduled to return home after the game and face the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Weather conditions in Philadelphia show the scale of the storm. The system began tapering off Sunday night in the region. According to the National Weather Service, the city received 9.1 inches of snow, the largest snowstorm in a decade. In 2016, Philadelphia recorded 22.4 inches of snow. Allentown in the Lehigh Valley received about a foot of snow.

Forecasts call for temperatures to drop starting Monday through the middle of next week, with highs in the low 20s and overnight lows dipping into the single digits and below zero. The snow is expected to remain on the ground for at least the next week as January ends and February begins.

Elsewhere in the league, the NBA postponed games in Memphis and Milwaukee on Sunday because of dangerous travel conditions. The Dallas Mavericks attempted twice to fly to Milwaukee for their scheduled Sunday night game against the Bucks, but conditions did not allow travel. The postponement was announced a few hours before tipoff, and food prepared for the game was donated to shelters in the Milwaukee area.

Earlier Sunday, a game between the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies was postponed about three hours before tipoff, with no reschedule dates announced. The Memphis area was experiencing snow, sleet, and freezing rain that began early Saturday morning and continued through Sunday morning. South and east of Memphis, freezing rain collected on power lines and trees, causing widespread power outages and blocked roads. Authorities recommended people stay off the streets as refreezing conditions developed in frigid temperatures.

The Nuggets said they planned to fly out Sunday, depending on conditions at Memphis International Airport, and are scheduled to play at home Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons. The Grizzlies are scheduled to be in Houston for a game against the Rockets on Monday.

The storm affected other levels of basketball. An NBA G League game between the Memphis Hustle and Stockton Kings in Southaven, Mississippi, scheduled for Monday, was postponed and rescheduled for February 19. In college women’s basketball, No. 17 Tennessee’s visit to No. 18 Mississippi on Monday and Tulane’s visit to Memphis on Tuesday were postponed, with no reschedule dates announced. In men’s basketball, Tennessee at No. 21 Georgia was moved from Tuesday to Wednesday, while Purdue Fort Wayne vs. IU Indianapolis and Southern Illinois vs. Evansville had Sunday games postponed without make-up dates announced.

The schedule changes followed dozens of games that had already been moved earlier in the week in anticipation of the storm.

Separately, on Saturday, the NBA postponed a game between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves to “prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community” after the fatal shooting of a man by a federal officer in a district located less than two miles from where the Timberwolves play.