Here’s How to Watch the 2026-27 NBA Season Live Online for Free

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After a thrilling NBA Finals with the New York Knicks winning the championship back in June, the basketball league is back in action. The start of a new NBA season has 30 teams from across the United States and Canada competing for glory on the court to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy at NBA Finals at the end of the season.

How to Watch NBA 2026-27 Season Online, at a Glance:

When Does the 2026-27 NBA Season Start?

The NBA season starts on Tuesday (Oct. 20) with a tripleheader of games starting at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. The season opening games air on NBC. Check out a complete 2026-27 NBA schedule here.

What TV Networks Feature the 2026-27 NBA Season?

NBA games broadcast across multiple networks, including ABC, ESPN, NBC and NBA TV. Meanwhile, games are available to livestream on Prime Video, ESPN Unlimited, Peacock and NBA League Pass.

Which Celebrities Are Making Appearances During the 2026-27 NBA Season?

NBA games are known for celebrity sightings, so it’s likely there may be a number of famous actors, actresses and recording artists in attendance. Artists have been known to appear at games in the past, include New York Knicks fans Spike Lee, Timothée Chalamet and Cardi B; Toronto Raptors fans Drake; Brooklyn Nets fans Jay-Z; Philadelphia 76ers fans Will Smith, Meek Mill and Kevin Hart; Cleveland Cavaliers fans Travis Kelce, Kid Cudi and mgk and others.

Where to Watch the 2026-27 NBA Season Online for Free

For cord-cutters, there are a few ways to watch basketball, if you don’t have cable, especially if you want to watch for free. DirecTV has a five-day free trial, while other streaming services, such as Fubo and Hulu + Live TV, also offer free trials, so you can watch games for free.

A subscription to DirecTV gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels, including ABC, ESPN, NBC and NBA TV, at $59.99 for the first month of service ($89.99 per month afterward). The service even offers a five-day free trial to watch for free, if you sign up now. It comes with access to ESPN Unlimited too for even more ESPN networks.

Sling TV offers the Orange & Blue plan, which comes with ABC, ESPN and NBC. With more than 50 channels, the streaming plan goes for $69.99 per month. For NBA TV, add Sling Sports Extra for an additional $11 per month. All plans come with a free cloud DVR and an extra 600 or so free channels too. Please note: Pricing and channel availability vary from market-to-market.

Fubo starts at $63.99 for the first month ($88.99 per month afterward) with more than 230 channels, including local and cable, like ABC, ESPN, NBC and NBA TV, that are streamable on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and on web browsers. And with a five-day free trial, you can watch for free, if you act fast and sign up now.

Broadcast and cable networks ABC, ESPN and NBC are all available to watch with Hulu + Live TV. Prices for the cable alternative start at $49.99 for the first month ($99.99 per month afterward) for more than 100 live channels, while each plan comes with Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited at no additional cost. Hulu + Live TV might be best for those who want all of these streaming services together in one package.

ESPN Unlimited is the official streaming platform for ESPN. A subscription includes instant access for $31.99 per month. However, you can save almost 17% off by purchasing an annual subscription for $319.99 per year. It features every ESPN network, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPN on ABC, ESPN+, SEC Network+ and ACC Network Extra — all in one streaming service. It even comes with CW Sports for more livestream games.

In addition to live sports, ESPN Unlimited has original programming to stream on demand. Although the service doesn’t offer a free trial, you can still watch ESPN Unlimited with a clever workaround to watch online for free. Learn more about how to get a free trial to access ESPN Unlimited here.

NBA on Prime Video games are exclusively on Prime Video for subscribers only with prices starting at $8.99 per month. Not a member? Sign up for a 30-day free trial to take advantage of all that Amazon Prime has to offer, including access to Prime Video, Prime Gaming and Amazon Photos; fast free shipping in less than two days with Prime Delivery; in-store discounts at Whole Foods Market; access to exclusive shopping events, such as Black Friday in November, and much more. Learn more about Amazon Prime and its benefits here.

There are two different plans offered on Peacock: The Premium Plan for $12.99 per month or the Premium Plus Plan for $19.99 per month. If you’re looking to save, you can get 17% off when you do the annual plan for $129.99 per year or $199.99 per year, respectively. With the Premium Plan, it’s ad-supported and you’ll receive access to a wide range of movies, TV shows, originals, live sports from NBC Sports and live news from NBC News.

Peacock’s Premium Plus plan comes with everything in the Premium plan, no ads, your local NBC channel live and the ability to download and stream offline.

More Ways to Watch

For die-hard basketball fans, NBA League Pass has every game during the regular season. NBA League Pass starts at $16.99 per month month for the standard subscription, or $16.99 for the first month ($24.99 per month afterward) for NBA League Pass Premium. Additionally, with NBA League Pass, fans can watch or listen to games live and on-demand, plus enjoy recaps and more content on NBA TV.

Starting on Tuesday (Oct. 20), the 2026-27 NBA season broadcast across on ABC, ESPN, NBC and NBA TV. One of the best ways to watch games live is with DirecTV.