NBA Streaming Guide 2025-26: ESPN, NBC, ABC, Prime & More

Tom's Guide

The NBA is officially back! And just like last season, figuring out how to actually watch the NBA in 2025 and 2026 can be a little complicated. In this video, Phil breaks down how to catch every game on ESPN and ABC, the return of the NBA to NBC, select games on NBA TV and the wide world of of streaming options, from League Pass, Peacock, Prime Video, YouTube TV and Hulu.

Transcript

00:00The NBA is officially back, and just like last season, figuring out how to actually watch the

00:05NBA in 2025 and 2026 can be a little complicated. Between games on ESPN and ABC, the return of the

00:13NBA to NBC, select games on NBA TV, and of course streaming options like League Pass, Peacock,

00:20Prime Video, YouTube TV, and Hulu, it's a lot to keep track of. So in this video, I'll break down

00:27exactly how to watch the NBA this season, which networks carry which games, what's new this

00:32year, and some of the matchups you won't want to miss. Quickly, we've got to talk about what to

00:39watch out for in the NBA this year. LeBron James, now in his 23rd season, is teaming up with Luka

00:45Doncic to try and reclaim Lakers' glory, while reigning champions, Oklahoma City Thunder, look

00:50poised for another title run. French superstar Victor Webinyama has already put together an insane

00:56highlight reel, making Spurs games impossible to ignore. Fans are also going to want to see how the

01:01Pacers and Celtics fare without their stars, while starting five on Netflix shines a spotlight on

01:07players' lives off the court, giving a new window into the personalities behind the stats and fueling

01:13hype around these high-stakes matchups. In short, the 2025-26 season is shaping up to be the NBA's

01:21biggest yet. I think it's easiest to break this video down into which networks have which games.

01:27When it comes to some of the biggest nights in the NBA season, NBC and Peacock will be your

01:33destination. Not only did the return of NBA to NBC kick off with the season opener, but they also get

01:39Mondays and Tuesdays, and then Sundays starting in February. You can find those Monday games on Peacock,

01:46then Tuesday nights will feature double-headers on NBC and Peacock. Once those Sundays start,

01:53NBC and Peacock get feature primetime hoops, including three double-headers almost all the

01:59way up to the playoffs. NBC and Peacock also scored rights to NBA All-Star Weekend festivities.

02:05That includes the Rising Stars game, the Kia Skills Challenge, three-point and slam-dunk contests,

02:12and of course, the actual 2025 All-Star Game on February 16th. Next, we've got ESPN. NBA on Wednesday

02:21nights on ESPN are back with double-headers throughout the regular season. Then mid-season,

02:27ESPN rights expand to include double-headers on Fridays. ESPN will get one night of the Emirates

02:33in-season tournament group play matchups on November 26th, plus share all of the Christmas Day games

02:40with ABC. Speaking of ABC, we get a lot of crossover with the Disney-owned networks.

02:46The biggest day for ABC is Saturday. NBA Saturday primetime, that'll start January 24th with a

02:53rivals-themed triple-header you won't want to miss. ABC is also the destination for the marquee

02:59Sunday afternoon matchups from February 8th through March 14th. Finally, ABC will once again be home for

03:06the NBA Finals. Let me know if we should upload a video closer to when playoffs start with all the

03:10info on how to watch those games.

03:14Prime Video is another big destination for watching the NBA this season. It gets 66 regular season games,

03:20including 10 during group play of the NBA Cup. The NBA Cup's quarterfinals, semifinals, and final games

03:27are also all exclusively on Prime Video. Those will be taking place in December, and there are big bragging

03:34rights involved, so expect some really good basketball on Cup nights. Fans can also use Prime

03:40to sign up for NBA League Pass. League Pass is how you're going to get non-nationally televised

03:46games, especially if you're watching out-of-market. League Pass starts at $14 a month if you only pick

03:52one team to follow, but it goes up to $25 a month for the full experience with League Pass Premium,

03:58including NBA TV, three concurrent streams, and those hilarious in-arena feeds in lieu of commercials.

04:07I know I just threw a lot at you, and believe me, I'm sure most of you haven't memorized, but

04:12in case you don't, we're going to recap. When it comes to streaming NBA this season,

04:16you're going to use NBC and Peacock on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, plus All-Star Weekend.

04:23ABC and ESPN are going to be Sunday, Wednesday, and some Fridays and Saturday nights. Again,

04:31ABC is also the home of the NBA Finals. Prime Video for Thursday and Saturday games,

04:38plus most of the NBA Emirates Cup, and NBA League Pass for most out-of-market games. I should also

04:45mention YouTube TV or Hulu Live TV for any of the network nationally televised games,

04:52and your in-market games. YouTube TV offers a great free trial, and Hulu Plus Live TV's intro

04:58offer is $65 for your first three months rather than $90. I'll have links to both down below.

05:05But what to do if you're traveling or living abroad? That's when you're going to want to get a VPN to

05:11access your local stream from anywhere. NordVPN is the best choice for streaming sports,

05:16as rated by our Tom's Guide team. We've even secured an exclusive NordVPN deal for our viewers

05:24that offers 75% off and three months free. But you do have to hurry. This offer won't last long.

05:31You have to use the link in the description below and comment everything I just said to you right now.

05:37No, the second part's a joke, but you'll find the link in the description down below.

05:40So by now, you should be set for this year's NBA season. And if you found this video helpful,

05:46be sure to give it a thumbs up and leave a comment letting me know if you'd want to see more

05:50streaming guides here on the channel. In case this is your first time here, we're typically testing

05:56out the latest gadgets. So if you're into that sort of thing, subscribe to Stay in the Loop.

06:00My name's Phil Rodriguez, this is Tom's Guide, and I'll see you in the next video. Take care.

06:10Bye-bye.

06:20Bye-bye.

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