Just like with hockey and baseball, your options for watching local NBA games this year can vary drastically based on where you live.
In 2024, there are 23 NBA teams with standalone streaming options, allowing you to watch in-market games without an expensive pay TV package. Six NBA teams are also broadcasting local games over the air, so you can watch for free with an antenna (don’t miss TechHive’s top TV antenna recommendations).
Meanwhile, a handful of pay TV holdouts remain. In five cities—primarily those served by regional NBC Sports networks—your only legal option is to sign up for a bloated bundle.
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone provided a single page on which to look up your local NBA team and see what you needed to watch in-market games without cable for the 2024-2025 season? That is precisely the service we are providing right here. (If you missed it, here’s a similar resource for this season’s NHL coverage.)
NBA in-market streaming options: An overview for 2024-2025
Below is a chart showing every National Basketball Association team, its corresponding local channel or regional sports network, the live TV streaming services that carry those channels, and whether any standalone alternatives exist.
Note that these options only apply for locally televised, in-market games. We’ll get to the options for nationally televised games—including most playoff coverage—in a bit. If you find this chart difficult to read, you can also view a version on Google Sheets.
| NBA Team | Local channel/RSN | Streaming bundle options | Unbundled options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Hawks | Bally Sports Southeast | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Boston Celtics | NBC Sports Boston | YTTV, Hulu Live, Fubo, DTV Stream | – |
| Brooklyn Nets | YES Network | DTV Stream, Fubo | YES on Gotham Sports ($25/mo or $240/yr) $360/yr with MSG |
| Charlotte Hornets | Bally Sports Southeast | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Chicago Bulls | Chicago Sports Network | DirecTV Stream | Free over-the-air |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Bally Sports Ohio | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Dallas Mavericks | Bally Sports Southwest | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Denver Nuggets | Altitude Sports | DirecTV Stream, Fubo | Altitude+ ($20/mo) 20 games over-the-air (9News and My20) |
| Detroit Pistons | Bally Sports Detroit | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Golden State Warriors | NBC Sports Bay Area | YTTV, Hulu Live, Fubo, DTV Stream | – |
| Houston Rockets | Space City Home Network | DTV Stream, Fubo | – |
| Indiana Pacers | Bally Sports Indiana | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Los Angeles Clippers | Bally Sports SoCal | DTV Stream, Fubo | ClipperVision ($20/mo or $125/yr) |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Spectrum SportsNet | DTV Stream | Spectrum SportsNet+ ($20/mo or $195/yr) |
| Memphis Grizzlies | Bally Sports Southeast | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Miami Heat | Bally Sports Sun | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Bally Sports Wisconsin | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | Bally Sports North | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| New Orleans Pelicans | Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network | Fubo | Pelicans+ ($15/mo or $100/yr) Free over-the-air |
| New York Knicks | MSG Network | DTV Stream, Fubo | MSG on Gotham Sports ($30/mo or $280/yr) $360/yr with YES |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Bally Sports Oklahoma | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Orlando Magic | Bally Sports Florida | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Philadelphia 76ers | NBC Sports Philadelphia | YTTV, Hulu Live, Fubo | – |
| Phoenix Suns | Arizona’s Family | Fubo | Suns Live ($15/mo or $100/yr) Free over-the-air |
| Portland Trail Blazers | Rip City TV Network | – | BlazerVision ($120/yr) Free over-the-air |
| Sacramento Kings | NBC Sports California | YTTV, Hulu Live, Fubo, DTV Stream | – |
| San Antonio Spurs | Bally Sports Southwest | DTV Stream, Fubo | Bally Sports+ ($20/mo or $190/yr) |
| Toronto Raptors | TSN | – | TSN ($20/mo, $80/half-year, $120/yr) |
| Utah Jazz | KJZZ14 | DTV Stream | Jazz+ ($20/mo or $125.50/yr) SEG+ (Utah HC bundle, $175/yr) Free over-the-air |
| Washington Wizards | NBC Sports Washington | YTTV, Hulu Live, DTV Stream | Monumental ($20/mo or $200/yr) |
Out-of-market NBA streaming
As in previous years, NBA League Pass lets you watch any out-of-market game that isn’t nationally-televised. If your favorite team plays in a different city from where you live, you can forgo the regional sports options above and get League Pass instead. It costs $17 per month or $110 for the season.
What about nationally televised games?
The unbundled options above won’t entitle you to NBA games that air on national television, including the playoffs and in-season tournament (now dubbed the “Emirates NBA Cup”). Those games are split between ESPN, ABC, and TNT, with a small number of playoff games on NBA TV, so figuring out the best course of action can get tricky.
TNT’s basketball coverage is still included with Max at $10 per month with ads or $17 per month without. While Warner eventually plans to charge an extra $10 per month for live sports, it’s not doing so yet.
NBA TV is available on a standalone basis through NBA League Pass, which also includes out-of-market games. It costs $17 per month or $110 for the season.
As for the other channels, you could try to pick up ABC’s coverage with an antenna, but that still doesn’t help you with the games on ESPN.
All of which brings us to live TV streaming services, which are the best way to bundle everything together:
- Sling TV Orange is the cheapest option at $40 per month (plus an extra $11 per month for NBA TV), but it’s missing ABC in all but a handful of markets.
- YouTube TV is a more complete option at $73 per month.
- Hulu + Live TV costs $83 per month but does not carry NBA TV.
- Fubo includes regional sports in many markets, but is much pricier at $92 per month (or more, depending on regional sports fees) and lacks TNT, a major source of NBA coverage.
- DirecTV Stream also includes regional sports for most markets in its “Choice” package, but it’s expensive at $115 per month.
Ultimately you’ll have to decide whether to piece things together (or even forgo some NBA coverage) in pursuit of greater savings, or pay more for the convenience of a bigger bundle.
For more help navigating the streaming sports landscape, check out these useful tools. And consider signing up for my Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter to get money-saving streaming advice every Friday.
