How to stream NBA games live without cable for the 2020-21 season – and what’s new for NBA fans streaming – The Streamable

What’s new for the 2020-2021 NBA season?

If you live in the same market as your favorite team

The NBA season has finally arrived – and for cable-free basketball fans, figuring out how to stream games has gotten a bit more complicated.

While for the first time all 30 NBA teams are available for wireless streaming, most of these teams are now only available with one option. The best option for you will depend on your willingness to watch local matches in the market and which team you are following.

our selection

Slingshot television

You’ll get ESPN, TNT, NBA on ABC (on ESPN3) and NBA TV (+ $ 10)

For those who just want to watch nationally televised games, it’s simple. There are six major streaming providers that offer live TV streaming from channels like ABC, ESPN, TNT, ESPN3 (which simultaneously broadcast ABC games) and NBA TV.

These let you watch games live with iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and Web.

Starting at around $ 25 per month, it’s an inexpensive way to stream NBA games without having to purchase a cable subscription. When the season is over, you can cancel your membership and save money during the off-season.

National broadcasts

ABC, ESPN and TNT

Most services include ABC, ESPN, and TNT in their basic package. Games broadcast on ABC are also broadcast on ESPN3.

ESPN and ABC will offer more than 50 regular season games live, in addition to 44 NBA Playoff games, including the NBA Finals.

Since the NBA has only released part of its schedule, ESPN is currently expected to broadcast around 40 of those games, the remaining 9 ABCs – mostly on Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons, in addition to Christmas Day.

TNT will offer more than 40 regular season games, including a double opening night program. The Golden State Warriors will face the Brooklyn Nets, while the LA Clippers will face the Los Angeles Lakers.

In addition to regular season games, TNT will host the NBA All-Star Game and over 40 NBA Playoff games, including the entire NBA Western Conference Finals.

You will either be able to stream these games with your streaming service or by authenticating with your credentials in the Watch TNT app or Watch ESPN app.

NBA Television

NBA TV will broadcast over 60 non-exclusive TV shows this season. For the general basketball fan, this is a good option to see teams playing outside of your home market.

However, you will not be able to watch your home team, as matches from teams in your local market will be blocked if the match is also streaming on your local RSN.

At $ 40 per month, Sling TV is the most comprehensive package for sports fans who also want NBA TV. Neither AT&T TV NOW nor Hulu Live TV offers NBA TV.

Regional broadcasts

Regional sports networks

If you live in the same market as your favorite team, most games will be played on a local regional sports network. You can stream all 30 NBA teams locally on live TV streaming services.

Our choices

However, since YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV, fuboTV, and Sling TV have all ditched Sinclair-owned RSN Fox Sports, your options are limited.

For all 16 of the 30 teams that are on Fox Sports RSN (soon to be Bally Sports), you will need to subscribe to AT&T TV NOW’s Max Plan ($ 80). It is admittedly more expensive than the others, but it also includes HBO Max ($ 15 value).

Some Fox Sports RSNs like Fox Sports Indiana and Fox Sports New Orleans will require you to use the Fox Sports app to stream the games by authenticating with your AT&T TV NOW credentials.

They’re also the only service that offers Denver Nuggets (Altitude), Los Angeles Lakers (Spectrum SportsNet), and Utah Jazz (AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain) games in your local market.

With other teams, you have more options:

Since not every department has all RSNs, the handy table below shows which teams are available on each department. Click on the team name to see the full schedule and which matches you can watch with each provider.

Overflow channels

Some games that appear on Overflow Channels may require you to watch on Fox Sports Go or the NBCSports app.

To be determined

All live streaming options

You can stream NBA games live with Hulu Live TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, AT&T TV NOW, and YouTube TV.

If you live in a different market as your favorite team

NBA League Pass

If you live far from your favorite team, you can still watch almost any game. The NBA offers its package off-market, NBA League Pass, for $ 200 to watch each team, NBA Team Pass for $ 120 for a single team, or $ 6.99 for a single game.

Fans can upgrade to NBA League Pass Premium ($ 250) which replaces ads with an arena stream for $ 50 per season.

Just like last season, you will be able to select home or away broadcasts and watch multiple games at the same time. A nice addition this season is that you will be able to download games offline, so you will be able to watch them even without an internet connection.

But there is a major downgrade this year if you had planned to share your account with your family. Previously, all NBA League Pass accounts offered five simultaneous streams. Now all plans except League Pass Premium only offer one stream. If you upgrade to League Pass Premium, you can stream to two devices at the same time.

NBA League Pass also includes the ability to add NBA TV to your membership, which is an additional $ 60 per season or $ 7 per month. Otherwise, unfortunately, all games on NBA TV, in addition to TNT, ESPN, ABC and local TV shows will be blocked. You will need a live TV streaming service for this.

Continuing from last season, fans can purchase off-market shows at the end of the first quarter ($ 4.99), first half ($ 2.99), and third quarter ($ 1.99). They also offer a 10-minute pass, which lets you stream 10 minutes of any non-market game for just $ 0.99.

You can still subscribe to the NBA League Pass through other providers. It’s available through Amazon Prime Video Channels, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.

Amazon Prime Video offers a NBA League Pass Free Trial until December 30.