How to stream the 2025-26 NBA season

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TNT’s long run as an NBA broadcaster has ended, ushering in a new era of media rights that will reshape how fans watch the league. Starting with the 2025–26 season, the NBA’s national package is split among three partners: Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video. That means cord-cutters still have plenty of options to watch marquee games, but keeping track of which platform carries which contest will take more effort than in the past.

NBC/Peacock will present up to 100 regular-season games, highlighted by Tuesday night regional doubleheaders and a new Sunday-night showcase launching in January. Every game NBC airs will also stream live on Peacock, which will add its own exclusive Monday night games to the schedule.

Amazon Prime Video has carved out a complementary package that includes 66 regular-season games, every Play-In Tournament matchup, select first- and second-round playoff games, and in certain years a share of the Conference Finals. Prime Video also holds exclusive rights to the Emirates NBA Cup knockout rounds, adding extra weight to its midseason coverage.

Regional sports networks (RSNs) remain the toughest piece of the puzzle. These local channels still carry the majority of NBA games, yet many—such as Fox Sports, NBC Sports RSNs, YES Network, and Marquee Sports Network—are absent from the most popular streaming services due to unresolved carriage disputes.

RSNs are even more important now with the Emirates NBA Cup, the league’s midseason tournament. Group play begins October 31 and the knockout rounds wrap up on December 16, with most games still shown on each team’s local network alongside selected national broadcasts.

Whether you want to chase the Cup or simply follow your home team, the best approach is to find a service that carries your RSN and pair it with one of the national platforms. A handful of teams still have over-the-air arrangements, but those are increasingly rare.

Here’s a guide to all your 2025–26 options when the season tips off on October 21.

Over the air

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The good news is you can access ABC for free if you have an over-the-air TV antenna (you’ll find our top antenna picks here) and are within the radius of your local ABC affiliate’s broadcast tower. The bad news is the network is scheduled to air only about two dozen of this year’s nationally televised games. These, however, include some of the league’s marquee matchups, including five Christmas Day games.

You can watch the remaining games with some combination of the following services.

Streaming service options

Sling TV

Sling TV remains a flexible option for catching nationally televised NBA games. The Orange plan costs $45.99/month and includes ESPN and ESPN2, with NBA TV available through the Sports Extra add-on for $11. New subscribers often get the first month at a discounted rate (around ~$23). Sling has also rolled out a $4.99 Day Pass, which provides 24-hour access to its Orange channels, and you can add Sports Extra to that pass as well.

DirectTV Stream

You can get ESPN, ESPN2, and and NBA TV via DirectTV Stream‘s Choice plan for $89.99 per month. RSN availability varies by location, so you’ll need to enter your ZIP code during signup to see exactly which regional networks (if any) your package will carry.

DirecTV Stream also includes your local NBC affiliate in most markets, so you’ll be able to catch NBC’s share of national NBA broadcasts, such as Tuesday doubleheaders and the Sunday-night showcase. But, as with other live TV services, you’ll still need a separate Peacock subscription to stream Peacock-exclusive Monday night games.

Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV

Both Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV give you access to ABC and ESPN/ESPN2 for a flat fee, but only YouTube TV offers NBA TV, giving it the edge for hoop heads. Hulu + Live TV costs $82.99 a month with ads or $95.99 a month with the No Ads plan (live broadcasts still carry commercials either way) and includes Hulu’s on-demand library, Disney+, and ESPN Select. YouTube TV charges $82.99 a month, discounted to $49.99 a month for the first two months.

Both services carry your local NBC affiliate in most markets, which means you’ll be able to watch NBC’s slate of national NBA broadcasts, including Tuesday doubleheaders and the new Sunday-night showcase. However, you’ll need a separate subscription to catch Peacock-exclusive Monday night games.

With just the one base channel package for each of these services, you don’t get the customizability of Sling TV or DirecTV Stream, so keep that in mind if you plan to use your subscription beyond basketball season.

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FuboTV

FuboTV offers ABC and ESPN in its $79.99-per-month Pro package, and you get $20 off the first month. This package also includes the regional sports networks NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California, which is great news if you’re a fan of the Kings, Warriors, Lakers, or Clippers. You can add NBA TV by purchasing the Sports Lite add-on for an additional $9.99 a month.

FuboTV also carries local NBC affiliates in most markets, so you’ll be able to see NBC’s Tuesday night doubleheaders and Sunday-night showcase games. But as with other services, Peacock-exclusive Monday night games aren’t included.

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Peacock

Peacock is now a must-have for NBA fans under the league’s new media rights deal. A subscription costs $10.99 a month for the Premium plan or $16.99 a month for Premium Plus (with lighter ads and extra features). Peacock streams every NBA game that airs on NBC; plus, a package of exclusive Monday-night games. It will also carry NBC’s Tuesday night doubleheaders and the new Sunday-night showcase beginning in January, making it the only standalone service that delivers such a large share of the national schedule.

ESPN

ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service launched this past summer, giving fans their first chance to watch the network’s full slate of games without a cable or live TV bundle. The service offers two tiers: Select, at $11.99 a month (or $119.99 a year) folds in the former ESPN+ library; Unlimited, at $29.99 a month (or $299.99 a year), adds live access to ESPN’s full lineup of channels along with ESPN on ABC broadcasts. Existing ESPN+ subscribers were migrated to the Select tier automatically. A launch bundle also offers Unlimited with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99 a month for the first year. For NBA fans, that means every ESPN-televised game is now available as a standalone streaming option.

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video has also become a central player in the NBA’s new media landscape. A subscription to Amazon Prime, which includes Prime Video, costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year (Prime Video by itself is available for $8.99 a month). Under its 11-year agreement with the NBA, Prime Video will stream 66 regular-season games, including marquee Friday-night matchups and, beginning in January, Thursday-night doubleheaders once the NFL season wraps. It also holds exclusive rights to all Play-In Tournament games, the knockout rounds of the NBA Cup, and selected first- and second-round playoff contests, as well as a rotating share of the Conference Finals.

NBA League Pass

If you’re truly hardcore for the hardwood, you should consider a subscription to NBA League Pass, the league’s official streaming service. For $109.99 a year or $16.99 per month, you can watch every live out-of-market game that isn’t being broadcast nationally on one of the four networks we’ve mentioned.

A League Pass subscription allows you to watch every game feed (home, away, mobile view, plus additional languages and camera angles) on your TV, computer, tablet, and smartphone. Games are available three hours after completion in the video archives. You also get anytime access to a curated selection of “classic” games.

For $159.99 a year or $24.99 per month, you can upgrade to NBA League Pass Premium, which enables you to stream a game on three devices at once and watch all games commercial free.

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NBA Team Pass

That’s a big investment if you only want to follow your favorite team. NBA Team Pass is a less-expensive alternative. For $89.99 a year, you get access to all your squad’s local broadcasts for both home and away games.

The rub is that NBA blackout rules still apply. If you live in your team’s “home” market—a Warriors fan residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, for example—you still won’t be able to watch their games even with a Team Pass subscription (this goes for League Pass as well). Your team’s home market, however, isn’t necessarily defined by your town’s city limits.

In the NBA’s own words, the league determines blackout zones “using zip code (if watching via a satellite television provider), a combination of zip code and cable system distribution territory (if watching via a cable television provider), or by the IP address associated with your internet connection or your mobile device’s GPS coordinates.”

That means this isn’t a cord-cutting option for everyone. You can see which teams are not available in your area in the blackout section on this page when you choose your subscription.

NBA streaming is still 50-50 ball

Streaming live NBA games continues to be a mixed bag for cord-cutters. The availability of national broadcasts through streaming services gives you a courtside seat for some of the biggest matchups of the season. But local fanbases who want to follow their team continue to be left on the bench, for the most part. Until streaming options for regional sports networks become more widely available, you might want to dust off your radio.

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