2026 is an especially weird year for watching the NBA.
With the demise of regional FanDuel Sports Networks, and the league’s long-planned national streaming service at least a year away, many teams were suddenly in need of temporary plans for this season. The result is a patchwork of standalone streaming services, free over-the-air broadcasts, and traditional TV options that vary based on where you live.
You might think the NBA would try to help, perhaps with a single page that helps fans sort through all the viewing options, but no. Its website offers “how to watch” pages for only a small handful of teams, and most of those pages carry incomplete information.
So once again, I will do what the league doesn’t, and put all your NBA viewing options in one place.
Watching your local NBA team
If you live in the same market as your favorite NBA team, and want to watch games that are not nationally televised, you have a few possible options:
- Subscribe to a standalone streaming service for local in-market games.
- Get local games through a pay TV package that carries them.
- Watch local games for free with an antenna, if your team is broadcasting them over the air.
Here’s a chart showing how those options shake out by market:
| NBA Team | Local channel/RSN | Pay TV packages with local games | Standalone options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Hawks | Peachtree Sports Network/WANF | DirecTV, Fubo | Free over-the-air |
| Boston Celtics | NBC Sports Boston | YTTV, Hulu Live, Fubo, DirecTV | Peacock sub required, plus $15/mo |
| Brooklyn Nets | YES Network | DirecTV, Fubo | YES on DAZN: $20/mo, $120/season, or $200/yr MSG bundle: $35/mo or $300/yr |
| Charlotte Hornets | WSOC/TV 64 | DirecTV, Fubo, YTTV | DAZN Hornets: $20/mo or $120/season Free over-the-air |
| Chicago Bulls | Chicago Sports Network | DirecTV, Fubo | CHSN: $20/mo Bulls/Blackhawks bundle: $30/mo or $350/yr |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | – | – | DAZN Cavs: $20/mo or $120/season 15 games free OTA and on DAZN |
| Dallas Mavericks | KFAA/WFAA | DirecTV, Fubo | MavsTV+: $15/mo or $125/yr Free over-the-air |
| Denver Nuggets | Altitude Sports | DirecTV, Fubo | Altitude+: $20/mo or $200/yr 20 games free OTA |
| Detroit Pistons | TV20 | DirecTV, Fubo | DAZN Pistons: $20/mo or $120/season Free OTA on WMYD |
| Golden State Warriors | NBC Sports Bay Area | YTTV, Hulu Live, Fubo, DirecTV | Peacock sub required plus $18/mo |
| Houston Rockets | Space City Home Network | DirecTV, Fubo | SCHN+: $20/mo or $200/yr |
| Indiana Pacers | – | – | DAZN Pacers: $20/mo or $120/season 22 games free on DAZN, 15 free OTA |
| Los Angeles Clippers | ClipperVision | DirecTV, Fubo | ClipperVision: $15/mo or $90/season 10 games free OTA on KTLA5 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Spectrum SportsNet | DirecTV | Spectrum SportsNet+: $20/mo or $200/season |
| Memphis Grizzlies | – | – | DAZN Grizzlies: $20/mo or $120/season 15 games free OTA and on DAZN |
| Miami Heat | WPLG Local 10 | – | Free on Local10+ Platinum app |
| Milwaukee Bucks | My24 | DirecTV, Fubo | Bucks+: $20/mo or $100/season |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | – | – | DAZN Timberwolves: $20/mo or $120/season 15 games free OTA and on DAZN |
| New Orleans Pelicans | Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network | DirecTV, Fubo | Pelicans+: $15/mo or $100/yr Free over-the-air |
| New York Knicks | MSG Network | DirecTV, Fubo | MSG on DAZN: $30/mo or $280/yr MSG Bundle: $35/mo or $300/yr |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Thunder Gameday Network | DirecTV, Fubo | Thunder+: $20/mo or $109/season 10 games free over-the-air |
| Orlando Magic | MagicTV 27/WFTV | – | DAZN Magic: $20/mo or $120/season 15 games free OTA and on DAZN |
| Philadelphia 76ers | NBC Sports Philadelphia | YTTV, Hulu Live, Fubo | Peacock sub required, plus $25/mo |
| Phoenix Suns | Arizona’s Family | DirecTV, Fubo | Suns+: $15/mo or $110/yr Free over-the-air |
| Portland Trail Blazers | Rip City TV Network | – | BlazerVision: $20/mo or $120/yr Free over-the-air |
| Sacramento Kings | NBC Sports California | YTTV, Hulu Live, Fubo, DirecTV | Peacock sub required, plus $18/mo |
| San Antonio Spurs | – | – | DAZN Spurs: $20/mo or $120/season 15 games free on DAZN, 22 free OTA |
| Toronto Raptors | TSN | – | TSN: $25/mo or $250/yr |
| Utah Jazz | KJZZ14 | DirecTV, Fubo | Jazz+ ($20/mo or $125/yr) SEG+ (Utah HC bundle, $175/yr) Free over-the-air |
| Washington Wizards | Monumental | YTTV, Hulu Live, DTV Stream | Monumental+: $20/mo or $180/yr |
Compared to previous seasons, the most notable new entrant in 2026-2027 is DAZN, which has swept in to replace FanDuel Sports Network for 10 NBA teams. If you already subscribe to DAZN for combat sports or international basketball, note that the NBA subscriptions are separate.
Some NBA teams are also turning to free, over-the-air TV for in-market games, either instead of or in addition to standalone streaming options. Consider using an antenna to watch these games instead of getting yet another streaming subscription.
One more note: Several teams still haven’t announced distribution through cable, satellite, or live TV streaming providers. We’ll likely see a few more announcements around the start of the season on September 20, and I’ll update this post accordingly.
Out-of-market NBA games
The situation is much simpler if your team plays in a different market. As in previous years, NBA League Pass lets you watch all out-of-market games for $17 per month or $110 for the season. (The ad-free “Premium” tier, which also supports up to three concurrent streams, costs $25 per month or $160 per season.)
Note that if your out-of-market team is playing against the local team in your area—whether at home or on the road—those games will be blacked out. League Pass also excludes nationally televised games, which I’ll cover below.
Nationally televised games
If you subscribe to a service for local or out-of-market NBA games, it still won’t carry games that air on national television. Those include 100 games across NBC and Peacock/NBCSN, 80 games on ESPN and ABC, and 66 games on Amazon Prime Video.
Figuring out the best way to get both local and nationally televised games is where things get tricky:
Standalone services with nationally televised NBA coverage:
- Peacock Premium is $13 per month on its own, though there are ways to pay less.
- ESPN Unlimited is $30 per month and also includes ABC’s sports coverage.
- Amazon Prime is $139 per year or $15 per month. You can also get just Prime Video for $9 per month.
Pay TV packages with nationally televised NBA coverage:
- YouTube TV carries ABC, ESPN, NBC, and NBCSN, both in its $83 per month base plan and $65 per month Sports plan.
- Fubo carries ABC, ESPN, NBC, and NBCSN, both in its base plan ($89 per month, plus regional sports fees) and Sports plan ($65 per month).
- Hulu + Live TV offers ABC, ESPN, NBC, and NBCSN in its $100 per month base plan.
- DirecTV carries ABC, ESPN, NBC in its Signature packages (starting at $95 per month) and MySports plan ($65 per month), but does not include NBCSN, so you miss Peacock’s Monday night games.
- Sling Essentials includes ESPN for $20 per month. It also carries local channels (including NBC) in certain markets at a higher price.
Ultimately, you’ll have to decide whether to piece together a few different streaming services or try to get most of your coverage through one pay TV bundle. The best option for you will depend on where you live, your willingness to hop between different apps, and how many games you’ll realistically end up watching. Hopefully, all this information will make those decisions a bit easier.
Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice.