How to Watch the 2025 NBA Season Online Without Cable

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The 80th season of the NBA tips off on Tuesday, Oct. 21. After 23 years being being broadcasted on TNT, the National Basketball Association is finally heading back to NBC with a must-see season opening doubleheader between the Houston Rockets vs. the defending champs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Golden State Warriors vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. To learn how you can watch basketball all season long without cable, keep reading.

When Does the 2025 NBA Season Start?

The 2025 NBA season tips off with an incredible doubleheader with the Houston Rockets vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder followed by the Golden State Warriors vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. Opening night airs on Tuesday, Oct. 21 on NBC, which can be streamed online with Peacock.

How to Watch the 2025 NBA Season Without Cable

The 2025 NBA season will air across NBC and ESPN while streaming on Peacock, DirecTV, Prime Video, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV. Don’t have cable? Here’s everything you need to know on how to stream NBA games online for free.

DirecTV

Join DirecTV with a five-day free trial to enjoy your favorite sports and other entertainment. The streaming service’s signature packages feature more than 90 channels: ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV, ESPN2, FS1, SEC, MLB Network, TLC, CBS, USA, Bravo, E!, BET, MTV and more.

A subscription to DirecTV — which comes with NBC and ESPN for NBA games — gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels, starting at $49.99 for the first month of service ($89.99 per month afterwards). The service even offers a five-day free trial to watch for free, if you sign up now.

Peacock

With the NBA on NBA, fans can now catch games streaming on Peacock. While there is no free trial for new users, the platform offers cheap plans starting at just $10.99 per month, or you can get an annual plan for $109.99 per year (which gets you 12 months of streaming for the price of 10). Sign up below.

Sling TV

Sling TV offers the Blue package, which comes with NBC. Blue is one of the most affordable options and comes with more than 40 channels and can be streamed on up to three device at a time. Please note: Pricing and channel availability varies from market-to-market.

Sling TV is another streaming option for sports fans on a budget. With Sling Orange + Blue package, you can stream ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT and other channels for starting at $33 for the first month ($65.99 per month afterwards).

You’ll also get more than 45 other networks, including Disney Channel, ESPN2, NBC, Fox, TBS, Bravo, Discovery Channel, Fox News, MSNBC, National Geographic, USA Network, Fox Sports and more. Please note that channel availability and price depends on your local TV market. Learn more about Sling TV here.

Hulu + Live TV

For the most content offerings, you can sign up for Hulu + Live TV and get access to the Hulu library in addition to more then 95 live TV channels (including NBC). The streaming platform starts at $64.99 per month for the first three months of service ($82.99 per month afterwards).

And, for even more programming, Hulu + Live TV now comes bundled with Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited, which gives you everything within the Hulu library, in addition to exclusive content on ESPN for even more sports coverage.

Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video is the exclusive home for the NBA’s Friday night doubleheaders — and it’ll be the exclusive streaming home for Thursday night NBA games starting in 2026.

To watch Friday Night NBA games, you’ll need a Prime Membership. Signing up will grant you access to Prime Video to watch the basketball games as well as a whole suite of benefits, including fast same-, next-, or two-day free shipping; discounts at Whole Foods Market, access to exclusive shopping events — like Prime Day and Black Friday — and more.

Amazon is offering a 30-day free trial for new users who want to test out the service. When the trial is up, you can either cancel the streaming service altogether, or you can keep watching for $8.99/month for the base Prime Video plan. But, if you want all the perks that come with Amazon Prime, it goes for $14.99/month (or $139/year) — a nearly 25% savings.

What’s the 2025 NBA Season Opening Week Schedule?

Don’t miss any of the on court action this week with must-see matchups including Golden State vs. Los Angeles Lakers (Oct. 21), Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks (Oct. 24) and Oklahoma City vs. Dallas Mavericks (Oct. 27). See full schedule as well as where to watch each game below.

Tuesday, Oct. 21

Wednesday, Oct. 22

Thursday, Oct. 23

Friday, Oct. 24

Saturday, Oct. 25

Sunday, Oct. 26

Monday, Oct. 27

Tuesday, Oct. 28