The NBA League Pass is the basketball fan’s ticket to watching most NBA games live and on-demand for the whole NBA season and off-season. We say most games because viewers in the United States and Canada are still restricted by regional blackouts, but if you’re simply looking for a way to watch a bunch of basketball, the League Pass is a great way to go.
You can get an NBA League Pass without cable by signing up on one of the following platforms:
- Roku offers NBA League Pass and NBA TV.
- Amazon offers NBA League Pass and NBA TV.
- Sling offers NBA Team Pass, NBA League Pass & NBA TV.
- YouTube TV offers NBA League Pass & NBA TV.
- DirecTV Stream offers NBA League Pass Premium & NBA TV.
- Spectrum offers NBA League Pass & NBA TV.
Alternatively, you can sign up for an NBA League Pass through the NBA's official website.
Bundle your NBA League Pass with Sling
If you like the idea of bundling NBA League Pass with a streaming service that'll give you access to all the cable channels that broadcast NBA games, Sling TV is one of the best options available. Like Fubo, Sling TV charges extra for NBA League Pass. The fact that it carries not only TBS and NBA TV, but also ABC and ESPN gives it a bit of an edge.
In order to get an NBA League Pass through Sling TV, you need at least one base plan. Two are available: Sling Blue and Sling Orange. Both base plans cost the same price, or you can get both together for a reduced monthly fee.
Sling Orange
$20 off your first month
- 30+ channels
- ESPN
- Stream on one device
$45.99/month
Sling Blue
$20 off your first month
- 40+ channels
- Local channels in select cities
- News and entertainment
- Stream on three screens
$45.99/month
Sling Orange & Blue
$20 off your first month
- General cable replacement
- 45+ channels
- Stream on three screens
$60.99/month
Sling Blue and Sling Orange come with 30-40+ channels, and there are a few channels that are included with both plans. For example, both Sling Blue and Sling Orange come with TNT. However, NBA fans will most likely want to go with Sling Orange since that's the base plan that comes with all the ESPN channels. Whichever base plan you choose, you'll need to get the Sports Extra channel add-on pack to get NBA TV.
If you want to catch games that air on NBA TV, you'll need to get a channel expansion pack called Sports Extra. The price of Sports Extra varies depending on which base plan you get.
Bundle your NBA League Pass with DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream is a great choice for purchasing your NBA League Pass because it already has some of the most extensive channel packages on the market. Those channel packages include many entertainment, news, sports, and local broadcast networks.
DirecTV Stream is also the only place you'll find a full(ish) suite of Regional Sports Networks outside of traditional cable TV.
The service has really upped its game on the features, offering an unlimited cloud DVRs. You can also stream on up to 20 devices at once on your home network.
DirecTV Stream Entertainment
Try 5 days free
- 75+ channels
- Stream on unlimited devices at home
- Unlimited DVR space
$84.99/month
DirecTV Stream Optimo Mas
- 100+ live TV channels
- Spanish and English programming
- Three months of Max free
- Unlimited DVR space
$86.99/month
DirecTV Stream Choice
Try 5 days free
- 105+ live channels
- Unlimited DVR space
- Includes regional sports networks
- Three months of Max free
$114.99/month
DirecTV Stream Ultimate
Try 5 days free
- 140+ live channels
- Unlimited DVR space
- Includes regional sports networks
- Three months of Max free
$129.99/month
DirecTV Stream Premier
- Unlimited DVR space
- 150+ channels
- Includes Max Cinemax SHOWTIME and STARZ
- Includes regional sports networks
$169.99/month
All of this comes at a high cost for DirecTV Stream, however, and to get the most out of DirecTV Stream, you're going to pay far more than you would with every other competing service on the market.
Bundle your NBA League Pass with YouTube TV
Another streaming service that will let you buy an NBA League Pass is Google's YouTube TV. It used to be cheaper than most of the other streaming services, but now it's pretty much the same price as the others. This, combined with the fact that you have to pay extra for an NBA League Pass, makes it a somewhat pricey option.
YouTube TV Spanish
Only $24.99 for the first 6 months
- Unlimited DVR space
- 6 accounts to share at home
- Stream on three screens
- 30+ Spanish channels
$34.99/month
YouTube TV
Only $54.99 for the first 3 months
- Unlimited DVR space
- 6 accounts for one price
- Stream on three screens
- 100+ live TV channels
$72.99/month
However, YouTube TV carries all four channels that broadcast NBA games. TNT and ESPN are a part of the core lineup, and so are ABC and NBA TV.
There are two options for paying for an NBA League Pass through YouTube TV: you can either pay up front, or add a monthly fee to your bill.
YouTube TV has excellent support for local TV affiliates. That means that you'll most likely be able to watch NBA games when they air on ABC. TNT, NBA TV and ESPN are included in the base plan.
Get an NBA League Pass through the NBA's official website
If you don't want to sign up with a streaming service, you can get the standalone version of the NBA League Pass directly from the NBA website.
The NBA offers two main subscription options: NBA League Pass and NBA Team Pass. Pricing for each subscription changes, depending on the time of year. There's also a premium subscription that gives you access to the NBA's on-demand video archive. The NBA will release NBA League Pass pricing information for the upcoming season this fall.
The NBA has made apps for a wide range of streaming platforms, from Apple and Android mobile devices to game consoles and even virtual reality devices.
Here's the full list of devices that you can use with your NBA League Pass:
iPhones, iPads, Android Phones, Android tablets, Amazon Fire tablets, Amazon Fire TVs, AppleTVs, Rokus, PS3 and PS4 consoles, Xbox One consoles, Android TVs, Gear VR, Daydream, Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, Windows MR, PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, Magic Leap, Amazon Alexa, Apple CarPlay
The NBA League Pass app has a five simultaneous stream limit. That means that four other people can use their devices to watch NBA games through your account as you watch. However, the mosaic feature -- which lets you watch several games at the same time -- counts against that five-stream limit.
How to use your NBA League Pass with Amazon Fire TV
You can watch NBA games live on Amazon Fire TV with your NBA League Pass if you have one of these streaming services: DirecTV Stream, Sling TV or YouTube TV. Just download whichever app you want to use from Amazon's app store to get started. If you don't want a streaming service and you only want an NBA League Pass, get the NBA app instead.
How to use your NBA League Pass with Roku
You can watch NBA games live on Roku with your NBA League Pass if you have one of these streaming services: DirecTV Stream, Sling TV or YouTube TV. Download any of the apps for free from the Roku Channels store. If you just want an NBA League Pass and don't need a streaming service, get the NBA app instead.
How to use your NBA League Pass with Apple TV
You can watch NBA games live on Apple TV if you have an NBA League Pass and one of these streaming services: DirecTV Stream, Sling TV or YouTube TV. Download any of their apps on Apple TV's App Store, sign up, then use your credentials to log in. If you just want the standalone version of NBA League Pass, get the NBA app instead.
Alex Munkachy • Author
Alex Munkachy is a freelance writer, game developer and hobby robotics enthusiast.
Kelsey Reynolds • Editor
Kelsey is a content strategist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Minnesota. Kelsey was drawn to working at Flixed because the team was so open, motivated, and curious. She most enjoys thinking about how to blend programmatic and editorial content to answer readers’ questions as completely and efficiently as possible. When she’s not at her computer, Kelsey can usually be found working in her garden or walking her two dogs in the park.
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