How to Watch 2021 NBA Pre-Season Live Online Without Cable: Streaming & TV Options
The NBA Preseason tipping off this week. Each team will tune-up with 4 preseason games a piece, to get ready for the start of the 2021-22 NBA season on October 19th. The good news is that whether you live close or far from your favorite NBA team, you have plenty of options to stream their games.
We will break down how you can watch your favorite team on your local RSN, nationally televised preseason games, and out-of-market NBA preseason coverage.
Top Pick
DIRECTV STREAM
- ESPN, TNT, & NBA TV
- Bally Sports RSNs / Fox Sports RSNs
- MSG
- YES Network
- Spectrum SportsNet
- AT&T SportsNet & ROOT Sports
- Altitude
Budget Pick
Sling TV “Orange”
- ESPN & TNT
- NBA TV (+$11)
- No Local RSNs
The preseason will consist of a total of 66 preseason games. Each team will play a minimum of four games, with at least one at home and one on the road. The full 2021 NBA preseason TV schedule and streaming options are below.
Local Telecasts on RSNs
For those who want to stream games in their local market, you will still need a Live TV Streaming Service. Which service you should choose really depends on what team you follow.
After YouTube TV, Hulu, Sling TV, and fuboTV each dropped Bally Sports RSNs, for most teams your only option is DIRECTV STREAM “Choice Plan” ($84.99) to stream most NBA games.
For teams carried on NBC Sports-owned RSNs like the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, you have multiple options to stream like Hulu Live TV, fuboTV, and YouTube TV.
If you want to stream games on MSG (New York Knicks) and AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston Rockets), your least expensive option is fuboTV ($64.99), which is available with a 7-Day Free Trial.
Best Options For Each Team
- fuboTV is the least expensive option for MSG (Knicks), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Rockets), and will soon offer ROOT Sports Northwest (Trail Blazers)
- DIRECTV STREAM ($84.99) is the only service that offers Bally Sports RSNs, Spectrum SportsNet (Lakers), YES Network (Nets), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah Jazz), and Altitude (Nuggets)
- NBC Sports RSNs are carried by nearly all of the Live TV Streaming Services like fuboTV, Hulu Live TV, and YouTube TV
TBD
National Telecasts
NBA TV will carry 15 games during the preseason, while ESPN/ESPN2 will carry six matchups, and TNT two games leading up to opening night. Some of those games will be blacked out locally, which will be carried on your local RSN or team’s website.
Sling TV, DIRECTV STREAM, and YouTube TV each carry ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV. Sling TV ($35) includes ESPN and TNT in their Sling Orange Plan, while NBA TV is part of their Sports Extra Add-On ($11). For a limited time, you can get Sling Orange for just $10 For Your First Month.
Hulu Live TV, which offers a 7-Day Free Trial, offers ESPN and TNT, but doesn’t have NBA TV, while YouTube TV has all three. fuboTV has ESPN and includes NBA TV in their Sports Plus Add-on ($11), which also includes NHL Network, MLB Network, and NFL RedZone.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Sign Up | Free Trial | Get 50% Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $91.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| ESPN | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
| ESPN2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
| NBA TV | + $15 | + $8 | - | - | + $11 | + $11 | ✓ | |
| TNT | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Out-Of-Market Telecasts
If you live away from your favorite team, you can still catch nearly every game. The NBA offers it’s out-of-market package, NBA League Pass, for $200 to watch every team, NBA Team Pass for $120 for a single team, or $6.99 for an single game.
Fans can upgrade to NBA League Pass Premium ($250) which replaces commercials with an in-arena stream and allows two people to stream at the same time.
NBA League Pass also includes the option to add NBA TV to your subscription — which is an additional $30 if you bundle it with your League Pass subscription (half the price of last season). If not, unfortunately, all games on NBA TV, in addition to TNT, ESPN, ABC, and local telecasts will be blacked out. You will need a Live TV Streaming Service for that.
You can still subscribe to NBA League Pass through other providers. It is available through Amazon Prime Video Channels, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.
How to Stream the 2021-21 Preseason Live for Free on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS and Android
There are six major streaming providers that offer Live TV Streaming. These providers allow you to watch the 2020-21 NBA Preseason live on Fox Sports Southeast using iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast and Web.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Sign Up | Free Trial | Get 50% Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $91.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| NBA TV | $15 | $8 | - | - | $11 | $11 | ✓ | |
| ESPN | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
| TNT | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
All Live TV Streaming Services
Price: $79.99
Includes: ESPN and TNT + 29 Top Cable Channels
Add-on: $15 Sports Pack
Includes: NBA TV
Price: $40
Includes: ESPN and TNT + 15 Top Cable Channels
Add-on: $11 Sports Extra
Includes: NBA TV
Price: $72.99
Includes: NBA TV, ESPN, and TNT + 30 Top Cable Channels
Price: $76.99
Includes: ESPN and TNT + 31 Top Cable Channels
Price: $91.99
Includes: ESPN + 24 Top Cable Channels
Add-on: $8 fubo Extra
Includes: NBA TV
Add-on: $11 Sports Plus
Includes: NBA TV
2021-22 NBA Season Preview
NBA 2021-22 Preseason TV Schedule
TBD