How to watch the 2025-2026 NBA season: Your guide to streaming games without cable
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For the first time in more than two decades, the NBA has new broadcast partners. That means that, like other sports leagues, watching games is about to get even more complicated.
A new NBA season is about to begin, and whether or not you still have cable, you're going to need a streaming service or two to catch the action live. Between regional sports networks, blackout games, and national broadcasts, we have a lot to cover. Buckle up, basketball fans. We've got your guide to watching the 2025-2026 NBA season, including all of the best streaming deals.
When does the 2025-2026 NBA season start?
The NBA season officially tips off on Oct. 21 with a primetime double header — Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers. The 82-game regular season wraps up April 12, 2025.
What channels do I need to watch live NBA games this season?
The NBA's long-standing contract with TNT has officially concluded. This season, you'll need NBC instead. After 23 long years, the league struck up a new deal with NBC — the network and its streaming counterpart, Peacock, will air up to 100 regular season games on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights. It will have been 8,532 days between NBC's last NBA broadcast and the 2025-2026 season opener. In addition to the games broadcast on NBC, there will also be several games exclusively streaming on Peacock.
Besides NBC, the NBA has also struck up a landmark deal with Amazon this season. For the first time, Prime Video is getting a slice of the basketball schedule. It was only a matter of time, TBH. Prime Video will present exclusive global coverage for 66 regular season games, as well as a new Black Friday NBA game, all games from the knockout rounds of this year's NBA Cup, the play-in tournament, and select playoff games.
In addition to NBC, Peacock, and Prime Video, you'll also need ABC, ESPN, NBA TV, and, of course, your regional sports network, as in years past. Here's a breakdown of the general TV schedule for national broadcasts:
Sunday — ABC/ESPN and NBC/Peacock
Monday — Peacock
Tuesday — NBC/Peacock
Wednesday — ESPN
Thursday — Prime Video
Friday — Prime Video and ESPN
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, with games airing on ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock, and Prime Video, compared to last season's 172. As noted above, 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 new direct-to-consumer streaming service 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 via regional sports networks (RSNs). 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.
In-market games:
In order to watch in-market games, you'll need access to your local RSN. Many of these networks (but not all) offer their own streaming subscriptions, like FanDuel Sports Network, Monumental Sports Network, or Gotham Sports. If you're unsure which RSN you need to watch your local team, you can check out the FAQs below.
The most direct way to access these RSNs is through their individual subscription offers, but not every RSN has its own streaming counterpart. For those that don't, you'll need a cable alternative like Fubo or DirecTV Stream, which can cost a pretty penny.
Out-of-market games:
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 team via NBA League Pass except the Knicks and Nets. NBA League Pass costs $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).
What is an RSN, and which one do I need?
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. Some examples of RSNs are FanDuel Sports Network (which replaced Bally Sports), NBC Sports, and Altitude Sports. Head over to the NBA schedule if you aren't sure which network your team plays on. For a complete list of each team's RSN, see the FAQs below.
If you really only care about your local team, many RSNs offer subscriptions for you to tune in without cable. For example, Fan Duel Sports Network Southeast (which includes Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies games) is $19.99 per month or $124.99 for the whole NBA season. Monumental Sports Network (which includes the Washington Wizards) is $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year. A quick Google search for your team's RSN will let you know if there's a separate subscription available. Of course, these RSN subscriptions will not include nationally broadcast games on ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock, Prime Video, or NBA TV.
The best live TV streaming deals for NBA games
Best for ESPN and ABC games: Save 16% on the ESPN Unlimited yearly plan
ESPN's direct-to-consumer streaming service, launched this past summer, 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). It typically costs $29.99 per month, but if you commit to a full year, you'll save about 16% or nearly $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
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 $10.99 per month (which adds up to $131.88), but paying upfront drops that price to only $109.99 (which breaks down to $9.17 per month). That's a total savings of 17%.
The Peacock Premium Plus plan costs $169.99 per year (which breaks down to about $14.16 per month instead of $16.99) 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.
More Peacock deals:
Free Peacock Premium for eligible Xfinity customers
Free Peacock Premium for Instacart+ subscribers
Free Peacock Premium for Walmart+ subscribers
Students save $8/month on one year of Peacock Premium
First responders, medical professionals, military personnel, and teachers save $7/month on Peacock Premium
Best for Prime Video games: Save $6 per month on Prime Video only
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.
More Prime Video deals:
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
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.
Topics Streaming Sports How to Watch
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, of course. In 2025, 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. 21 and wraps on April 12, with playoffs starting immediately after.
Since 2020, the NBA playoffs have kicked off with the NBA play-in tournament, which will take place April 14 through 17 in 2026. The first round of the NBA Playoffs 2026 will then begin on April 18.
The best way to watch out-of-market NBA games in 2025 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.
Atlantic
Boston Celtics — NBC Sports Boston
Brooklyn Nets — YES Network
New York Knicks — MSG
Philadelphia 76ers — NBC Sports Philadelphia
Toronto Raptors — NBA League Pass (no RSN)
Pacific
Golden State Warriors — NBC Sports Bay Area
LA Clippers — FanDuel Sports Network SoCal/ClippersVision
Los Angeles Lakers — Spectrum SportsNet
Phoenix Suns — Arizona's Family/SunsVision
Sacramento Kings — NBC Sports California
Central
Chicago Bulls — Chicago Sports Network
Cleveland Cavaliers — FanDuel Sports Network Ohio
Detroit Pistons — FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Indiana Pacers — FanDuel Sports Network Indiana
Milwaukee Bucks — FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin
Southeast
Atlanta Hawks — FanDuel Sports Network Southeast
Charlotte Hornets — FanDuel Sports Network Southeast
Miami Heat — FanDuel Sports Network Sun
Orlando Magic — FanDuel Sports Network Florida
Washington Wizards — Monumental Sports Network
Northwest
Denver Nuggets — Altitude
Minnesota Timberwolves — FanDuel Sports Network North
Oklahoma City Thunder — FanDuel Sports Network Oklahoma
Portland Trail Blazers — BlazersVision
Utah Jazz — KJZZ
Southwest
Dallas Mavericks — TEGNA/WFAA Ch. 8
Houston Rockets — Space City Home Network
Memphis Grizzlies — FanDuel Sports Network Southeast
New Orleans Pelicans — Grey Media/Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network
San Antonio Spurs — FanDuel Sports Network Southwest
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.
