Table of Contents
The best NBA streaming deals at a glance:
Best for ESPN and ABC games
<a href="https://zdcs.link/9214nE?pageview_type=Standard&template=article&module=product-summary-list&element=offer&item=buy-link&element_label=ESPN%20Unlimited%20annual%20plan&object_type=article&object_uuid=05hnNKWxiBi0gsAdgtFeYdp&short_url=9214nE&u=https%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F<a href="https://comicvibe.com/jay-z-u2-and-star-wars-headline-nfls-next-big-entertainment-events/” title=”Jay-Z, U2 and ‘Star Wars' headline NFL's next big entertainment events”>entertainment%2Fhow-to-watch-nba-games-2026″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>ESPN Unlimited annual plan$319.99/year(save $63.89)
Best for NBC and Peacock games
Peacock Premium annual plan$129.99/year(save $25.89)
Best for Prime Video games
Prime Video only$8.99/month(save $6/month compared to Prime subscription)
BEST FOR OUT-OF-MARKET GAMES
NBA League Passstarting at $16.99/month
A couple monumental things happened last NBA season: the New York Knicks brought home the championship for the first time in over 50 years and the league rekindled its broadcast partnership with NBC after 23 long years. This year, the season is tipping off with a triple-header on the network (and its Peacock streaming counterpart) between the Celtics and Pistons (3 p.m. ET), the 76ers and Knicks (7 p.m. ET), and the Thunder and Spurs (9:30 p.m. ET) on Oct. 20.
Watching the 2026-2027 NBA season requires the same streaming services as last season, at least for national broadcasts. Still, if you need a refresher or you’re new to watching basketball, getting your streaming lineup ready is no walk in the park. Between regional sports networks, blackout games, and national broadcasts, we have a lot to cover. Buckle up. Here’s your guide to watching the 2026-2027 NBA season, including all of the best streaming deals.
When does the 2026-2027 NBA season start?
The NBA season officially tips off on Oct. 20, 2026, with a triple-header on NBC and Peacock. The 82-game regular season wraps up April 11, 2027.
What channels do I need to watch live NBA games this season?
The NBA’s long-standing contract with TNT officially concluded prior to last season, with NBC taking its spot after two decades. The network and its streaming counterpart, Peacock, will air up to 100 regular season games on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights in the 2026-2027 season. There will also be several games exclusively streaming on Peacock.
Besides NBC, the NBA also struck up a landmark deal with Amazon last season. For the second year in a row, Prime Video is getting a slice of the basketball schedule. Prime Video will present exclusive global coverage for 67 NBA regular-season games, Emirates NBA Cup games, and the Eastern Conference Finals.
You’ll also need ABC and ESPN, as the networks will broadcast 80 regular-season games for the 25th straight season. Of course, you’ll also need access to your regional sports network, as in years past.
Here’s a breakdown of the general TV schedule for national broadcasts:
-
Sunday — ABC and NBC/Peacock
-
Friday — Prime Video and ESPN (starting midseason)
-
Saturday — ABC/ESPN and Prime Video
How to watch NBA games this season without cable
National broadcasts
There will be 247 national broadcasts this season, once again, with games airing on ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock, and Prime Video. Even if you have cable, you’ll still need Peacock and Prime Video in order to watch those exclusive games. No cable? No worries. Peacock has you covered with NBC broadcasts as well as Peacock exclusives, and ESPN’s Unlimited tier has you covered with ESPN and ABC broadcasts. You can watch nearly 250 games this season with Peacock, ESPN Unlimited, and Prime Video alone.
Local broadcasts
Unfortunately, national broadcasts only make up a small fraction of the full slate of games. Most games are broadcast locally, though many teams have started to move away from these traditional RSN models. Regardless, for these games, it will largely come down to whether or not the team you want to watch is in-market or out-of-market
Mashable Top Stories
By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
In order to watch in-market games, you’ll still need access to your team’s RSN or streaming counterpart this year. But here’s the thing: this might be the last year of RSNs. These regional sports networks are largely going bankrupt due to customers cutting the cord. Next season, look out for a centralized streaming hub that houses local NBA broadcasts of most teams. Until then, you’ll have to subscribe to your team’s specific RSN or streaming service for the 2026-2027 season.
DAZN signed on as a partner for the NBA this season, with the exclusive or digital local broadcast rights to 10 different teams. Prime Video has also acquired the exclusive rights to Hawks games, plus non-exclusively shows four other teams. If you’re unsure of what network or service you need to watch your team in 2026, see our FAQs below.
If you’re a fan of an out-of-market team, you’ll need NBA League Pass. League Pass streams practically all regional broadcasts for teams that aren’t in your local market. For example, if you live in New York City, you’ll be able to watch every teamcosts $16.99 per month to watch on one device with commercials or $24.99 per month to watch on up to three devices with in-arena streams (no commercials)
The best live TV streaming deals for NBA games
Best for ESPN and ABC games: Save 16% on the ESPN Unlimited yearly plan
Opens in a new window
Credit: ESPN
ESPN Unlimited annual plan
$319.99/year (save $63.89)
ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, launched last year, unlocks access to the entire suite of ESPN networks and services in one subscription. You’ll get to stream NBA games from ESPN and ABC (as well as plenty of other sports and leagues) in real time. It typically costs $31.99 per month, but if you commit to a full year, you’ll save about 16% or over $60. Of course, you can watch more than just NBA games, making the yearly plan worth it, particularly for fans of multiple sports.
Best for NBC and Peacock games: Save 17% on Peacock annual subscription
Opens in a new window
Credit: Peacock
Peacock Premium annual subscription
$129.99 per year (save 17%)
When Peacock isn’t running any sort of special (which it does a few times per year — keep an eye out around Black Friday), the best Peacock deal for most people on any given day is the annual subscription plan. When you pay upfront for the year, you’ll end up getting 12 months for the price of 10. A monthly subscription with ads usually costs $12.99 per month (which adds up to $155.88), but paying upfront drops that price to only $129.99 (which breaks down to $10.83 per month). That’s a total savings of 17%.
The Peacock Premium Plus plan costs $199.99 per year (which breaks down to about $16.67 per month instead of $19.99) and offers ad-free content. Live sports, however, will still include ads. If you’re subscribing to Peacock specifically for NBA games, you might as well go for the cheaper option.
Best for Prime Video games: Save $6 per month on Prime Video only
Opens in a new window
Credit: Prime Video
Prime Video only
$8.99 per month
If you’re only interested in Prime Video for the NBA games, you probably don’t care about all the extra perks of being a Prime member. In that case, you don’t need to pay $14.99 per month for Prime. You can simply subscribe to Prime Video as a standalone service for only $8.99 per month instead and save yourself $6 per month.
Of course, Amazon makes it unnecessarily complicated to sign up for Prime Video on its own. When you go to sign up for a subscription, be sure to select the option to “see more plans” or “change plans.” Then, navigate to the option for Prime Video on its own. You can still cancel whenever you want, just as you would a full Prime membership.
-
Save 22% on an Amazon Prime annual membership
-
Students save $7.50 per month with Prime for Young Adults
Best for out-of-market games: Save over 40% on NBA League Pass annual subscription
Opens in a new window
Credit: NBA League Pass
NBA League Pass annual plan
$109.99 per season with ads, $159.99 per season without ads
Similar to NFL’s Sunday Ticket, minus the outrageous fee, NBA League Pass gives fans access to live out-of-market games. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy games from the NBA’s archive, analysis, documentaries, highlights, and more. Local games on NBA TV, as well as nationally broadcast games, will be blacked out live. You can tune into locally blacked-out games three days after the live broadcast and nationally broadcast games three hours after. It costs $16.99 or $24.99 per month, but if you pay for the whole season upfront, it’ll only cost you $109.99 or $159.99. The more expensive option unlocks ad-free viewing and the ability to stream on three devices at once.Recommended deals for you
HBO Max
—
top pick for premium content
Disney+
—
best for families
Hulu
—
popular choice for originals
Peacock
—
low-cost choice for live sport
TopicsStreamingSportsHow to Watch
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, of course. In 2026, there’s no need for a cable subscription to watch sports. You can subscribe to your local team’s regional sports network, sign up for streaming services like ESPN and Peacock, or subscribe to NBA League Pass. There are lots of options, depending on your specific needs.
The NBA regular season lasts for about 25 weeks, with each team playing 82 games. It kicks off on Oct. 20 and wraps on April 11, with playoffs starting immediately after.
Since 2020, the NBA playoffs have kicked off with the NBA Play-In tournament, which will take place April 13 through 16 in 2027. The first round of the NBA Playoffs 2026 will then begin on April 17.
The best way to watch out-of-market NBA games in 2026 is with NBA League Pass. Subscriptions start at just $16.99 per month (with ads) and beyond live games, you’ll also get to enjoy games from the NBA’s archive, analysis, documentaries, highlights, and more.
Unlike the NFL, which offers national broadcasts of most games with specific in-market choice games, the NBA (as well as the NHL and MLB) complicates things with regional sports networks (RSNs). These are essentially sports-specific TV channels dedicated to a local market or geographic area. If you live in the same region as your favorite team, you’ll need to know which RSN broadcasts your team’s games.
Many teams have begun moving away from the traditional RSN model, opting for local over-the-air channels and independent streaming subscriptions instead. Regardless, you’ll still need separate access to these networks in order to watch your local team’s broadcasts this season.
For a complete list of each team’s RSN or local network, see below.
New York Knicks — MSG Network, DAZN
Toronto Raptors — TSN and Sportsnet (no traditional RSN in U.S.)
Phoenix Suns — Arizona’s Family/SunsVision
Detroit Pistons — The Spot – Detroit 20, DAZN
Charlotte Hornets — WSOC Channel 9 or TV64, DAZN
Miami Heat — WPLG Local 10, My15 WTCN
Orlando Magic — MagicTV 27, DAZN
Oklahoma City Thunder — Thunder Gameday Network, Thunder+
Portland Trail Blazers — KUNP and KATU, BlazerVision
Dallas Mavericks — KFAA, WFAA, MavsTV
Houston Rockets — Space City Home Network, SCHN+
New Orleans Pelicans — Grey Media/Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network, Pelicans+
Christina Buff is a Nashville-based freelance writer for who covers shopping with a splash of entertainment. If you’re ever wondering what streaming service you need to watch something (and the cheapest way to sign up for it), she’s your girl.
Christina received a B.S. in Business Communication (concentration in writing) from Stevenson University and began her professional journey writing and editing press releases. Since then, she’s written content for a marketing agency, blogged for celebrities, and covered local news, politics, women’s lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and just about everything in between for various publications.
When she’s not writing, she’s probably enjoying live music, studying human design, or embroidering and upcycling clothes. You can follow her on Instagram at @touchinfinity.
