How to watch the NBA in 2026-27 without cable

You can follow almost all of the 2026-27 NBA season without a cable box, but not with one subscription. The league's national games are split between three companies, and your own team's local games sit in a fourth place that depends on where you live. This guide shows who has what, so you can add only what you need.

Everything below is the situation on November 1, 2026. Prices change, so we give a price only where a source we can use showed one, and we say when it was seen. Right now that is none.

The three national homes

The NBA is in the second season of 11-year deals with ESPN and ABC, NBC and Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video.

NBC and Peacock carry the most national games this year: 100 regular-season games across three nights. Peacock NBA Monday started on October 26 with up to three games a week; on those nights the same game also airs on the NBCSN cable channel, but you do not need NBCSN if you have Peacock. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday started October 27 as a doubleheader on NBC, also streaming in full on Peacock. NBC stations may show the early game, the late game, or both, so check your local listing, while Peacock has both everywhere. Sunday Night Basketball arrives on NBC on January 24, 2027.

Prime Video has Friday-night doubleheaders for most of the regular season, with Thursday and Saturday games later in the season. It also has the NBA Cup knockout rounds and final, the whole play-in tournament, selected games in the first two playoff rounds, and, for the first time, the Eastern Conference Finals exclusively. Prime Video is part of Amazon Prime; we do not print its price because we could not take one from a source we can use.

ESPN and ABC have the Wednesday games, a package of Saturday and Sunday games on ABC, the five-game Christmas Day slate, and the NBA Finals, which ABC has shown for 25 years in a row. ESPN games stream on the ESPN app's Unlimited plan, which streams every ESPN-produced game. A lower "Select" tier or Disney+ carry only some.

What you can get for free

ABC and NBC are broadcast networks. With a TV antenna and a nearby station you can watch every game those two networks show, and you pay nothing. That covers Christmas Day, the Finals, Coast 2 Coast Tuesdays (the games your local NBC station chooses), and Sunday Night Basketball. It does not cover anything that is on Peacock only, Prime Video only, or ESPN's cable channel only.

A quick map

NBA League Pass and local games

NBA League Pass is the league's own package for games that are not shown nationally where you live. It can also be added as a channel inside Prime Video. In the U.S., nationally televised games are normally blacked out on League Pass. That is the league's usual rule and our sources do not restate it for this season, so confirm it on the league's page before you buy. It is the reason League Pass owners still need Peacock, Prime Video and ESPN.

If you want the games of your home team, you are in the "local" category, and this season that category is in flux. FanDuel Sports Network stopped operating after the 2025-26 season, which affected 13 teams. Wikipedia lists the new local arrangements so far: the Pistons moved to a deal with Scripps Sports and a streaming service on DAZN, the Heat to a Miami broadcast station and its app, the Bucks to a Milwaukee station and a "Bucks+" subscription service inside the NBA app, and the Hawks to a broadcast deal with Gray Media plus a Prime Video agreement for their market. The league has reportedly explored a shared local streaming hub, but nothing has launched. Check your team's own page for the current local option; it changes by ZIP code.

The playoffs without cable

For the 2027 postseason, expect to need three apps and an antenna. Prime Video has the play-in tournament (April 13 to 16), a share of the first two rounds, and the Eastern Conference Finals. ESPN and ABC have the Western Conference Finals, a share of the first two rounds, and the Finals. NBC and Peacock have a share of the first two rounds. Because the first two rounds are shared among all three companies, which service has a given game can vary. Keep a short list of which service has which series; the league's schedule updates every few days.

What we could not confirm

• Peacock's price. We could not load the Peacock page from our connection, so there is no Peacock price here.
• ESPN's price. We did not find a current ESPN app price in a source we can use.
• League Pass price. The league's own sales page is on a site we do not read. Check it before you buy.

These gaps are on purpose: a number we cannot point to is a number we do not print.

Note. The trade deadline, All-Star dates and playoff dates are on the NBA hub, with a "Projected" label wherever a date is not final.