The new NBA season is now under way, and while the league's 2020/21 campaign will be a slightly shortened 72-game affair (compared to 82 games usually), unlike the last term, teams will be playing at their home arenas and some venues will be welcoming fans back. Read on as we explain how to get an NBA live stream and watch every basketball game online, no matter where you are in the world right now.
2020/21 NBA live stream
The 2020/21 NBA regular season gets under way on Tuesday, December 22 and is scheduled to run through July 2021. Full TV channel and NBA live streaming details are below - but you can jump out to an early lead by trying a quality VPN 100% risk-free to ensure you can watch your team wherever you are right now.
Pre-season NBA action started on December 11, and there'll be an All-Star break in March as per usual, but these technicalities aside the real question is: can anyone stop LeBron James and the Lakers from doing the double as champions?
They beat a talented and supremely spirited Miami Heat outfit 4-2 overall in last season's NBA Finals, and the Vegas bookmakers have the Lakers installed as firm favorites to do the double this year. With LeBron going nowhere and fellow superstar Anthony Davis now inked to a 5-year, $190m max deal that will keep him in Cali Showtime colors for the foreseeable future, it's tough to argue against the pedigree of the iconic Los Angeles franchise.
But they'll face fierce competition in the Western Conference this season from fellow LA team the Clippers, who are led by Kawhi Leonard, as well as Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors - no doubt desperate to bounce back from last year's hugely disappointing season.
Over in the East, last year's runners-up the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler are among the preseason favorites to go back to the finals - but the Milwaukee Bucks, who boast the reigning league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in Giannis 'The Greek Freak' Antetokounmpo, no doubt have other ideas. A young and still emerging Boston Celtics team with burgeoning superstar talent in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are also firmly in the mix, having swapped the services of Gordon Hayward for Tristan Thompson in the offseason.
Intrigued? We can't wait for tip-off. Read on as we explain how to watch an NBA live stream and catch every game of the 2020/21 basketball season online from anywhere.
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How to watch NBA blackout games and stream from abroad
Scroll down for a guide to NBA live streaming services all over the world, but first, know that if you can't watch an NBA game on your usual TV channel or streaming service, it might be due to a coverage blackout (in the US) or a geo-blocking restriction (in international markets).
Both can stop you from watching the coverage you want and most likely pay for, especially with many games being shown on national TV.
When either of these are the case, the simplest and most reliable solution is to use a VPN service to change your IP address to a difference location. This will generally let you tune in to your local coverage, just as you would from home, and means you don't have to trawl the sketchier corners of the internet for an illegal stream.
Use a VPN to watch NBA basketball online from anywhere
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NBA live stream 2020/21: how to watch every game online
In order to watch the NBA on TV in the US, you’ll need either cable TV - or access to a good streaming service.
The biggest, nationally televised games are aired across a number of channels: ESPN, ABC, TNT and NBA TV. Regional sports networks (RSNs) also get a significant slice of the regular season action, and are important to have access to if you're a fan of a particular team.
Covering all your bases can therefore be tricky, especially if you don't want the commitment (or expense) of cable. However, there are two quality over-the-top streaming services that we'd recommend to NBA fans that should meet most people's needs.
The cheapest way to live stream NBA basketball
If you only want to watch the biggest games and are less concerned about RSN coverage, you can watch the NBA online for less with great value OTT streaming service Sling TV.
Its Orange package costs just $30 a month and gets you ESPN and TNT, while a $10 p/m Sports Extra add-on nets you NBA TV. This combo will give you an NBA live stream for many nationally televised games, with ABC the only channel not on offer.
Plus, Sling offers a FREE TRIAL period so you can check it out for yourself - and unlike cable, cancel your subscription at any time. Its RSN offering is limited, however.
More ways to watch NBA basketball online
Another quality option is fuboTV, which offers ESPN, TNT and NBA TV along with national channels like ABC, CBS and NBC in most major markets. Packages start from $59.99 a month for the cable replacement service and there's a FREE 2-week fuboTV trial you can try to see if it's right for you.
It also features regional sports networks (RSNs) for local coverage in many areas, including NBC's affiliates in Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago, plus MSG and SportsNet NY for the New York market and NESN in the Greater Boston area
However, other RSNs including most SportsNet affiliates (including Spectrum SportsNet LA) and New York's YES Network can now only be found on the AT&T TV Now service.
Those going online-only can consider the merits of an NBA TV Pass , which gets you access to nationally televised games - though it is subject to blackout restrictions, when they apply. Which means you'll also need a VPN for a complete solution if you go this route.
How to watch the NBA: live stream basketball in the UK
UK basketball fans can watch the NBA and live stream this season's biggest games (as well as those of the WNBA) on Sky Sports - available on Sky of course, as well as with BT and Virgin Media, TV packages.
Not interested in the commitment or cost of a full-fat Sky Sports subscription, but still want to watch the NBA live in the UK? There's also the option of a streaming-only Now TV Sky Sports Pass.
Your final option is the NBA League Pass, which is available in the UK and will get you every single game of the 2020/21 season from just £3.99 a month for your pick of any three NBA games to watch; £14.99 p/m for full coverage of a single team; or £24.99 a month to get a UK NBA live stream of every single game around.
Should you sign up to that or any other UK sports streaming service, you may well want to watch your subscription from abroad - and as detailed above, all you need is a good VPN on your bench.
How to watch the NBA online: live stream every game in Canada
If you're a Canadian basketball fan, then you probably (but not necessarily) want to know how to watch the Raptors.
SportsNet and TSN share NBA coverage in Canada, including Raptors games. Both are widely available on cable but also offer streaming-only services - TSN Direct (from CAD$19.99 a month) and SN Now (from $9.99 a month).
For fans of teams that aren't the Raptors or just love watching basketball in general, Canada's NBA League Pass offering is the way to go. While Raptors games are subject to blackout, no other teams are affected, making it a great choice.
Plus, Canadian hoops fans travelling abroad can always use a VPN to get the same NBA coverage they'd normally watch (and pay for) back home.
NBA live stream 2020/21: how to watch basketball online in Australia
If you plan on watching the NBA on TV this season in Australia, then you’ll need a cable package that gives you access to ESPN, as the network owns the country’s NBA broadcast rights. You can get a Foxtel subscription with the sports package included that will allow you to watch all the season's biggest televised games on ESPN, while free-to-air broadcaster SBS may also be showing select matchups for free on certain weekends.
Don’t want to sign up for Foxtel just to watch the NBA this season? Then great value over-the-top service Kayo Sports has you covered as it will allow you to stream all of ESPN’s NBA coverage for way less than a pay TV package. It costs between $25 and $35 a month, depending on which option, you choose but new customers will be able to test it out for themselves thanks to the service’s 14-day FREE TRIAL.
NBA League Pass is also available in Australia and is a great option for true NBA fanatics who want to watch every game of their favourite team and other action from around the league that might not always be on ESPN's broadcast schedule.
Going abroad? Remember to consider packing a quality VPN, which will let you access all the same streaming services, NBA games and general sports action you'd normally watch Down Under.
NBA League Pass: the best way to live stream the NBA online?
As you can see, there are a number of options for streaming the NBA online. But one that keeps cropping up is NBA League Pass, the league's official streaming service.
If you want to follow your favorite team all season long or even if you want to keep up with every team in the league, it's a great way to watch the NBA from all over the world.
In the US, a yearly NBA League Pass subscription starts at $199 for coverage of every out-of-market game. But that's an important caveat. While this represents a solid deal for fans of teams living outside their local area, fans residing in-market will find most games subject to black out restrictions - and it's not really a viable option as a result.
Additionally, you have to pony up extra for access to any games shown on NBA TV. The exception, as we've said, is for out-of-market fans. If that's you, NBA League Pass is worth your consideration - and with the help of a quality VPN, you can take your coverage with you wherever you are in the country (or world).
The service offers a different packages for international markets, but as an example, in the UK, you can pay as little as £14.99 a month for an NBA live stream of all of your team's game this season.
Obviously, local blackout restrictions don't apply internationally, either, so it's a pretty good offer - and one that's far more straightforward than what's served up in the States.
As well as the UK, NBA League Pass covers pretty much every major international market with end-to-end hoops action apart from the US and Canada - so whether you're in Europe, South America, Asia, Oceania or anywhere else, it's well worth looking at.
As ever, if you're out of the country you subscribed to NBA League Pass in, it's likely you can use a VPN to get around these restrictions. Just follow our instructions above.
Who won the NBA finals in 2020?
The Los Angeles Lakers are your defending NBA champions, having won their 2020 NBA Finals series against the Miami Heat 4-2.
LeBron James - who else? - was named the MVP of the finals and is one major reason why LA are heavily favored to repeat at champions this year.
However, the NBA isn't always so predictable -as evidence by the 2019/20 season, when the Toronto Raptors dethroned the Golden State Warriors, sealing the deal in game 6 of the best of seven series with a 114-110 win.
Kawhi Leonard, now of the LA Clippers, was the MVP of that NBA Finals - which represented the first time in Raptors franchise history that the team had won the NBA championship. It's safe to say Toronto partied hard that night.
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