If you are a basketball fan who just wants to watch a game of NBA, you might find the myriad of options available very confusing, not to mention very expensive.
Every year, there are 1,230 regular-season games in the NBA plus as many as 105 playoff games.
There isn’t one single place that carries all these NBA games. Instead, these games are scattered over dozens of broadcast networks, local stations, and streaming websites.
To watch NBA Games for free, use VPN and search for “free NBA streaming”. You also use an antenna to tune in to ABC, or check if locast.org is available in your region.
The cheapest way to watch NBA is by subscribing to Sling TV. If you have Amazon Prime membership, you can subscribe to NBA TV for only $7 per month to watch NBA games without cable.
If you have Amazon prime membership, just sign up with NBA TV ($7) and you’re ready to go. Amazon Prime has a 30-day free trial, and then it is $12.99/month or $119/year.
| Channels | Season Games Covered | Playoff Games Covered | Total Games Covered | Monthly Cost | |
| Over The Air Antenna | ABC | 20 | 15 | 35 | $0 |
| Locast.org | ABC | 20 | 15 | 35 | $0 |
| NBA TV Streaming | NBA TV | 90 | 10 | 100 | $7 |
| Sling TV Blue | TNT | 65 | 50 | 115 | $30 |
| Sling TV Orange | ESPN | 80 | 25 | 105 | $30 |
| Sling TV Blue + Orange | TNT, ESPN | 145 | 75 | 220 | $45 |
It is expensive if you want to be able to watch all NBA game. To watch all NBA games including games that are blacked out, you have to pay $29/mo for NBA League Pass, and pay for numerous channel subscriptions like ABC, ESPN, TNT, Regional Sports Networks, or all in one package like AT&T’s NOW MAX ($29/mo), and NBA TV ($7/mo). The total comes out to be $116/mo.
In order to keep your cost low, let’s take a look at the different options that you can watch selective NBA games.
We will also look at the costs of these options and help you plan out the most cost-effective way to get your NBA fix by finding the sweet spot of getting the biggest NBA bang for your buck, including ways to watch NBA games for free.
If you want to watch complete coverage of all NBA games, you have to pay $29 per month for an NBA League Pass. Then to watch all the games that are blacked out, you have to have access to numerous channels including ABC, ESPN, TNT, your local sports network, and NBA TV.
Related: How To Watch NFL Games for Free or Cheap
How To Watch NBA Games for Free
People often search “free NBA streaming” on the internet and they will find many sites that stream NBA games for free
However, these sites are not completely trustworthy, so using a VPN is highly recommended. They do not offer the highest video quality, but for the price of $0 that might be something they might be willing to overlook.
If you decide to stream free NBA games from one of the many free sports sites on the Internet, you should use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to protect yourself and your privacy.
There are countless VPN services on the Internet, not a few of them are fly-by-night operations. For those who are unfamiliar with the world of VPN, choosing a fast, cost-effective, and reliable VPN service can be a challenging task.
To make this task easier for you, we have compiled a list of the 5 best VPN services on the market.
| Sign-up Link | Annual Cost | |
| NordVPN | Link | $59.00 |
| ExpressVPN | Link | $99.95 |
| Surfshark | Link | $77.88 |
| Hotspot Shield | Link | $95.88 |
| IPVanish | Link | $99.99 |
NordVPN (Best VPN & Cheapest)
- Sign up: Here
- Price: $11.95/mo, or $83.88/year
- Works on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux
- Maximum devices supported: 6
- Number of servers: 5,400+
- Server locations: 80+
- Countries: 59
ExpressVPN
- Sign up: Here
- Price: $99.95 per year
- Works on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux
- Maximum devices supported: 5
- Number of servers: 3,000+
- Server locations: 160
- Countries: 94
Surfshark
- Sign up: Here
- Price: $77.88 per year
- Works on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux
- Maximum devices supported: Unlimited
- Number of servers: 3,200
- Server locations: 100+
- Countries: 65
Hotspot Shield
- Sign up: Here
- Price: $95.88 per year
- Works on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux
- Maximum devices supported: 5
- Number of servers: 1,800+
- Server locations: 110+
- Countries: 80+
IPVanish
- Sign up: Here
- Price: $99.99 per year
- Works on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux
- Maximum devices supported: Unlimited
- Number of servers: 1,600+
- Server locations: 75+
- Countries: 50+
Free VPN Services
You may think spending $60 to $100 each year on a paid VPN is still a lot of money.
If that describes you, you may want to look into free VPN services.
As their name suggests, free VPN services do not cost money. The most popular free VPN service on the market is ProtonVPN’s free tier.
ProtonVPN Free Tier
- Sign up: Here
- Price: $0
- Works on: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux
- Maximum devices supported: 1
- Number of servers: 3
- Server locations: 3
- Countries: 3 – the Netherlands, Japan, the US
Compared to the paid VPN services in our list above, the free tier of ProtonVPN is significantly slower and only supports 3 locations.
But if you can live with these compromises, ProtonVPN is a great choice for a no-cost VPN.
On the other hand, you might want to think twice about using some random free VPN services you find on the Internet. Many free VPNs are full of malware.
Some will bombard you with ads. Others will suck up your network bandwidth to sell it to their paid customers. The risks can be substantial.
NBA TV
NBA TV airs at least 90 games during the regular season, mainly on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays. Occasional Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday games may air if ESPN does not hold rights to coverage on those nights
For playoffs, NBA TV will air some first-round games. Depending on how long each playoff series go, NBA TV probably airs close to 10 playoff games every season.
In total, about 100 regular-season and playoff NBA games are aired on NBA TV every season.
The usual blackout rule applies: if a game is aired by your local station, you will not be able to watch it on NBA TV.
Cable ––$70 to $90 Per Month
Cable packages that include local NBA stations vary in prices based on the cable service provider. Some examples:
- Spectrum TV Silver: $70 per month. To get NBA TV, you need to upgrade to the $70 per month Silver package
- Comcast Xfinity Digital Preferred: $90 per month with no commitment
Online Live TV Streaming – $7 Per Month or $60 Per Year
You can get online streaming of NBA TV directly on the NBA website for $7 per month or $60 per year
NBA League Pass
NBA League Pass is the ultimate NBA package. With a League Pass, you can watch almost all NBA games. We said “almost” because the dreaded blackout rules still apply here – any games that are being aired on national TV (ABC, ESPN, TNT, NBA TV) or your local sports network (e.g. NBC Sports Boston) will not be shown on the League Pass.
| League Pass | Price |
| NBA TV Live | $59.99 |
| NBA League Pass (1 Team) | $119.99 |
| NBA League Pass (All Teams) | $199.99 |
| Premium (All Teams, No Commercials) | $249.99 |
| Premium + NBA TV | $309.98 |
There are also Team League Passes that show all the games of just 1 team. This is great for someone who has moved away from home but still wants to follow their home team.
For example, a Celtics Team League Pass would be perfect for someone who lives in LA but wants to follow the Boston Celtics. However, it would not work for someone who lives in Boston because all Celtics games would be blacked out to them.
The NBA TV & NBA League Pass prices listed in the sections above are the prices at the beginning of the NBA season.
As the NBA season goes on, there will be fewer basketball games left to be shown on the League Pass & NBA TV.
As a result, the NBA will increasingly reduce the prices of the Annual League Pass and Annual NBA TV to reflect the continuously diminishing value of these annual subscriptions.
On the other hand, the prices of the Monthly League Pass and Monthly NBA TV will remain more or less the same throughout the season because a month is a month, whether that month is at the beginning of the NBA season or the end of it.
You can see these pricing dynamics on display all the time.
In Dec 2020, at the beginning of the 2020 – 2021 NBA season, the Annual NBA League Pass (All Teams) was for sale at its full price of $200 per year. By the time March 2021 rolled by, the NBA season was close to half over.
That means close to half of the NBA games had already been played and the Annual NBA League Pass had lost close to half of its value at that point.
And, lo and behold, as of March 2021, the Annual NBA League Pass was being offered for sale at $100 on the NBA.com website, which amounted to a 50% discount on the original price of $200 at the start of the season in Dec 2020.
The table below summarizes the changes in the pricing of the 2 Annual NBA League Passes and the Annual NBA TV:
| Dec 2020 (Month 1 of Season) | Mar 2021 (Month 3 of Season) | Discounts from Month 1 to Month 3 | |
| Annual NBA TV | $60 | $30 | 50% |
| Annual NBA League Pass (All Teams) | $200 | $100 | 50% |
| Annual NBA League Pass (1 Team) | $120 | $60 | 50% |
As you can see from the table above, Annual NBA TV, Annual NBA League Pass (All Teams), and Annual NBA League Pass (1 Team) were all discounted by 50% in March 2021, when about half of the NBA season had been played out at that point.
So, by the time when 50% of the NBA season had come and gone, the annual NBA subscriptions were all discounted by 50%. It made perfect sense.
Meanwhile, the price of the Monthly NBA League Pass remained at $29 per month in March 2021, the same as its price at the beginning of the season.
This was as expected because 1 month’s worth of NBA basketball remained more or less the same in March 2021 as it was in Jan 2021.
So, no discount was needed for the Monthly League Pass in March even though the NBA season was close to half gone at that point.
You see the same pattern in all other monthly subscriptions – their prices in March 2021 saw no change from their prices in Dec 2020.
| Dec 2020 (Month 1 of Season) | Mar 2021 (Month 3 of Season) | Discounts from Month 1 to Month 3 | |
| Monthly NBA TV | $7 | $7 | None |
| Monthly NBA League Pass (All Teams) | $29 | $29 | None |
| Monthly NBA League Pass (1 Team) | $18 | $18 | None |
The bottom line is, the prices of the Annual NBA TV & Annual NBA League Pass will start high and then get more and more discounted as the NBA season goes on.
If you do not mind missing the games in the earlier months of the season, you can just wait for a few months and you would be able to buy the Annual League Pass or Annual NBA TV at a deeply discounted price (over 50%) towards the tail end of the season.
On the other hand, the price of the Monthly League Pass and Monthly NBA TV will remain roughly the same throughout the season. So, you will not be able to buy it at a discount even if you wait for months.
Amazon Prime Video
Those who are members of Amazon Prime can watch both NBA TV and NBA League Pass through Prime Video Channels, which enables Amazon Prime members to subscribe to premium cable channels without having a cable subscription.
Besides NBA TV and NBA League Pass, other premium cable channels available on Amazon Prime Channels include HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ, Cinemax, and more. Prices range from $4.99 to $14.99 per channel per month.
The prices of the NBA League Pass and NBA TV on Prime Video Channels are the same as that on the NBA.com website.
Amazon Prime Free Trial
- How to Subscribe: Subscribe here
- After Free Trial Monthly Cost: $12.99
- After Free Trial Annual Cost: $119
NBA TV on Amazon Prime Channels
- How to Subscribe: Subscribe here
- Monthly Cost (as of March 2021): $7, the same as that on NBA.com
- Annual Cost (as of March 2021): $30, the same as that on NBA.com
NBA League Pass on Amazon Prime Channels
- How to Subscribe: Subscribe here
- All Teams Monthly Cost: $29 per month
- 1 Team Monthly Cost: $18 per month
ABC
ABC is the only (legal) place where you can watch NBA games for free. Mind you, only a very limited number of NBA games are shown on ABC every season. But still, free is free.
Typically, ABC does not start showing NBA games until it is almost 2 months into the season, kicking off its NBA coverage with a doubleheader on Christmas Day.
After that, it will show a few games here and there on Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons. For the 2019 to 2020 season, ABC has only scheduled to show a total of 18 NBA regular-season games.
For playoffs, ABC will air up to 9 games during the first 5 weeks of the NBA playoffs. Sometimes it misses the Conference Finals completely.
On the plus side, it is the exclusive broadcaster of the NBA Finals. Depending on how long each playoff series goes, ABC probably airs close to 15 playoff games every season.
In total, ABC carries more than 30 NBA games every season including both regular season and playoff games.
How To Watch ABC
You can watch ABC over the air, on cable, or online.
Over The Air – Free
This is the cheapest way to watch the NBA. If you already have a TV antenna, you can get ABC over the air for free.
If you do not have a TV antenna, you can buy one on Amazon for less than $30.
Basic Cable – $25 – $40 Per Month
You can buy a basic cable package and that will include ABC. Basic cable is not something cable companies like to advertise for, so you might have to ask for it specifically. Prices vary based on cable providers. For example:
- Optimum: $25 per month
- Cox: $25 per month
- Comcast Xfinity: $40 per month
Online Live TV Streaming – Free to $65 Per Month
Pretty much all live TV streaming services include ABC. Prices vary between services:
- Locast: Free. Locast is a not-for-profit service streaming broadcast TV stations over the internet. It is only available in select regions. If you live in one of those regions, you can stream ABC for free. Go to Locast.org to see if it is available where you live
- Vidgo: $45 per month. Vidgo is a great choice for sports fans in general, and it is one of the cheapest live TV streaming services you can find anywhere
- AT&T TV NOW PLUS: $55 per month. The cheapest package PLUS costs $55 per month and includes ABC
- fuboTV: $60 per month. fuboTV includes ABC in select regions. Go to this page to check if fuboTV in your region carries ABC
- YouTube TV: $65 per month. ABC is included
- Hulu + Live TV: $65 per month. It includes ABC in most, but not all, markets
ESPN
ESPN airs NBA games on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. You get a lot more NBA games on ESPN than on ABC.
For playoffs, ESPN airs games on Thursdays (starting with the conference semi-finals), Fridays, and Saturdays. It also airs one Conference final per year, with usually Game 4 and Game 7 set aside for ABC.
Depending on how long each playoff series go, ESPN probably airs around 25 playoff games every season.
In total, about 110 regular-season and playoff NBA games are aired on ESPN every season.
How To Watch NBA on ESPN
You can watch ESPN either on cable or online.
Cable -– $45 to $70+ Per Month
Cable packages that include ESPN vary in prices based on the cable service provider. Some examples:
- Spectrum TV Select: $45 per month
- Comcast Xfinity Digital Starter: $71 per month with no commitment
Online Live TV Streaming – $30 to $65 Per Month
Many live TV streaming services have ESPN bundled into their offerings.
- Sling TV Orange: $30 per month. Sling TV Orange is designed for sports fans and it is the cheapest (legal) way to watch ESPN
- Vidgo: $45 per month. The core $45 package includes ESPN. This is the 2nd cheapest way to watch ESPN.
- AT&T TV NOW PLUS: $55 per month. The cheapest package PLUS costs $55 per month and includes ESPN
- fuboTV: $60 per month. fuboTV includes ESPN
- YouTube TV: $65 per month. ESPN is included
- Hulu + Live TV: $65 per month.ESPN is included
TNT
TNT airs weekly NBA doubleheaders throughout the regular season on Thursdays, and Tuesdays in the second half of the season.
For playoffs, TNT shows the majority of games during the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. It also shows one Conference Finals series, with ESPN showing the other Conference Finals series.
Depending on how long each playoff series go, TNT probably airs close to 50 playoff games every season.
All in all, TNT shows about 120 NBA regular season and playoff games every season.
How To Watch NBA on TNT
You can watch ESPN either on cable or online.
Cable -– $45 to $70+ Per Month
Cable packages that include TNT vary in prices based on the cable service provider. Some examples:
- Spectrum TV Select: $45 per month
- Comcast Xfinity Digital Starter: $71 per month with no commitment
Online Live TV Streaming – $30 to $65 Per Month
Many live TV streaming services have TNT bundled into their offerings.
- Sling TV Blue: $30 per month. Sling TV Blue includes TNT and it is the cheapest (legal) way to watch TNT
- AT&T TV NOW PLUS: $55 per month. The cheapest package PLUS costs $55 per month and includes TNT
- YouTube TV: $65 per month. TNT is included
- Hulu + Live TV: $65 per month.TNT is included
Regional Sports Networks
The networks we have covered so far, ABC, ESPN, TNT, are all national networks. NBA games are also shown on local stations and regional sports networks.
Each local station will show the games of its own local NBA team. For example, when the Brooklyn Nets play the Los Angeles Lakers, the game will be aired by both the YES Network (Nets’ local station) and the Spectrum SportsNet (Lakers’ local station.)
Typically, local stations get exclusivity of regular-season and early playoff round games. So even if the Nets – Lakers game in our example is aired by a national network such as TNT, the TNT coverage will be blocked in the LA and Brooklyn regions in a practice known as “blackout” to protect the local stations, in this case, the YES Network and the Spectrum SportsNet.
What is the implication of blackouts? It means that you will not be able to watch your local team on national networks such as ABC, ESPN, or TNT. It is a way to force you to subscribe to local stations.
The table below shows all the NBA teams and their respective local stations.
NBA Teams and Their Respective Local Stations
| NBA Team | Local TV |
| Atlanta Hawks | Fox Sports Southeast |
| Boston Celtics | NBC Sports Boston |
| Brooklyn Nets | YES Network |
| Chicago Bulls | NBC Sports Chicago |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Fox Sports Ohio |
| Dallas Mavericks | Fox Sports Southwest |
| Denver Nuggets | Altitude |
| Detroit Pistons | Fox Sports Detroit |
| Charlotte Bobcats | Fox Sports Southeast |
| Golden State Warriors | NBC Sports Bay Area |
| Houston Rockets | AT&T SportsNet Southwest |
| Indiana Pacers | Fox Sports Indiana |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Spectrum SportsNet |
| Los Angeles Clippers | Fox Sports Prime Ticket, Fox Sports West |
| Miami Heat | Fox Sports Sun |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | Fox Sports North |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Fox Sports Wisconsin |
| Memphis Grizzlies | Fox Sports Southeast |
| New York Knicks | MSG Network |
| New Orleans Hornets | Fox Sports New Orleans |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Fox Sports Oklahoma |
| Orlando Magic | Fox Sports Florida |
| Philadelphia 76ers | NBC Sports Philadelphia |
| Portland Trail Blazers | NBC Sports Northwest |
| Phoenix Suns | Fox Sports Arizona |
| San Antonio Spurs | Fox Sports Southwest, KENS, KMYS |
| Sacramento Kings | NBC Sports California |
| Toronto Raptors | TSN |
| Utah Jazz | AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain |
| Washington Wizards | NBC Sports Washington |
You can see from the table above thatmost of these local stations belong to either Fox Sports Networks or NBC Sports.
How To Watch NBA on Local Stations
You can watch NBA on local stations either on cable or online.
Cable ––$45 to $70+ Per Month
Cable packages that include local NBA stations vary in prices based on the cable service provider. Some examples:
- Spectrum TV Select: $45 per month
- Comcast Xfinity Digital Starter: $71 per month with no commitment
Online Live TV Streaming – $60 to $80 Per Month
Many live TV streaming services have your local sports network bundled into their offerings, sometimes at an increased price.
- AT&T TV NOW MAX: $80 per month. This top tier package costs $80 per month and includes regional sports networks such as NBC Sports Boston and MSG Network
- fuboTV: $60 per month. fuboTV includes regional sports networks such as NBC Sports Boston and MSG Network
- YouTube TV: $65 per month. YouTube TV includes regional sports networks such as NBC Sports Boston. However, it does not include MSG Network
- Hulu + Live TV: $65 per month. Hulu + Live TV includes regional sports networks such as NBC Sports Boston. However, it does not include MSG Network
One thing to keep in mind is that these regional sports networks are only available to users who are located within the region.
For example, if you are located in California and you sign up for fuboTV, you will not be able to watch NBC Sports Boston even though it is available on fuboTV.
Only customers who are located in the greater Boston area will be able to watch NBC Sports Boston on fuboTV.
Your Cable Bill is High Because
The process flow for signing up with cable companies are basically this:
- You sign up with their Free Trial
- The free trial period ends, and they start charging you monthly
However, sometimes you might get a much bigger first bill. For example, CBS all access commercial-free plan is $9.99 but your first bill is $99.99 instead of $9.99.
This happens when you are signing up with the subscription, you did not click on the checkbox that says something like “Save 15% by paying annually”.
If this happened to you and you did not want to pay annually, contact your cable company to cancel the plan and subscribe again. Make sure you got your refund back, and this time subscribe to the monthly plan.
Frugalanswers.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.
