How to Watch NBA Games for Free: Basketball Live Streaming in 2025
- Table of Contents
- What Channel Is the NBA Game On?
- How to Watch NBA Games Without Cable for Free
- How to Watch NBA Games for Free on Phone (iPhone and Android)
- How to Watch Past NBA Games for Free
- Step by Step: How to Watch NBA Games for Free
- NordVPN: The Best VPN to Watch NBA Games for Free
- Conclusion
- FAQ: NBA Streaming
Teaser: Quick Summary: How to Watch NBA Games for Free Online
You can watch NBA games for free on platforms like FuboTV, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV, which offer free trials. You may need NordVPN to unblock them, so grab your subscription and test it with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Find a livestreaming service with the games you want to watch.
- Use a VPN if the service isn’t available in your country.
- Sign up for a free trial of the streaming service.
- Enjoy the games!
There aren’t many legal streaming sites that provide free NBA games, and those that do are limited to a few games. Even premium services like the NBA League Pass still hit you with game blackouts depending on your location. Fortunately for you, I’m about to show you how to watch NBA games for free using the best VPNs.
I’ll cover how to watch NBA games without cable and list websites you can use to watch some games for free. Additionally, I’ll provide a step-by-step guide on how to stream NBA games on your mobile devices and how to use the best VPN to get around geographic restrictions. If you want to catch the latest NBA games or rewatch past ones, you’ve come to the right place.
- Money-Back Guarantee30 DaysWorldwide Server AmountOver 5,400+ servers in 59 countries
What Channel Is the NBA Game On?
National Basketball Association (NBA) games usually start in October, with the NBA playoffs running through June. They are usually screened on multiple channels, such as ESPN, ABC, NBA League Pass, NBA TV, TNT and other regional sports networks (RSNs)in the United States.
How to Watch NBA Games Without Cable for Free
You can watch NBA games for free without a cable subscription on streaming services like DirecTV Stream, FuboTV and Hulu + Live TV. All of these services cost money, but they offer free trials that last up to seven days. That’s enough for you to enjoy a free game or two, which can come in handy during the NBA conference finals.
Where to Watch NBA Games for Free Online?
You’ll have to deal with some hurdles to legally watch NBA games for free online. There’s a small window of opportunity since you’re limited to a free trial that doesn’t last long. You may also be in a restricted region where accessing the free trial is impossible without a VPN.
Luckily, VPNs are safe and most are easy to use — we’ve even got a guide explaining how to change the VPN location. Here are the online platforms where you can stream NBA games for free.
- Ran.de: This site streams select NBA games from ProSieben, a free-to-air channel based in Germany. While it is completely free, you can watch only two games every weekend during the NBA regular season. Additionally, Ran.de is available only in Germany, so you’ll need a VPN — I’ll show you how to pull that off in a moment.
- FuboTV: You can watch over 200 sports channels on FuboTV. Prices range from $32.99/month to $99.99/month, but you can activate a seven-day free trial and access the full NBA catalog. However, the streaming service is offered only in the U.S., Canada and Spain, so you’ll need a VPN if you’re outside these countries.
- DirecTV Stream: This platform shows NBA games from ABC, ESPN, FOX Sports, TNT and NBA TV. The prices range from $69.99/month to $149.99/month with a five-day free trial. DirecTV Stream is available only in the U.S., so you’ll need a VPN if you live anywhere else.
- Hulu + Live TV: With Hulu + Live TV, you can regularly access NBA games from channels like ABC and ESPN. The price plans start at $76.99/month, and you can still use a three-day free trial. Hulu is exclusively available in the U.S., so you need a VPN to stream NBA games if you live in another country.
How to Watch NBA Games for Free on Phone (iPhone and Android)
You can stream NBA games on Android and iOS by downloading streaming apps like FuboTV and Hulu + Live TV. Note that if you’re in a region where these free trial services are restricted, you’ll need a VPN to access them. Fortunately, there are reliable free VPNs like Proton VPN with locations in the U.S. — see our Proton VPN review for details.
On iPhone
If you’re using an iPhone and would like to stream NBA games for free, follow these steps. If you need a VPN to access TV in another region, we’ve got a list of the best VPNs for iPhone.
- Subscribe to a Free Trial
- First, sign up for a free trial of a streaming service that offers NBA games. FuboTV (seven-day trial), DirecTV Stream (five-day trial) and Hulu + Live TV (three-day trial) are three good options you can try.
- Download the Streaming App
- All three of the above streaming services have iOS apps. Download and install the one that fits your needs from the Apple app store.
- Start Streaming NBA Games
- You can stream as many NBA games as you like until the free trial expires.
On Android
If you’re using Android, here are the steps to stream NBA games for free. Use one of the best VPNs for Android if you need to change regions.
- Subscribe to a Free Trial
- Start by subscribing to a streaming service with a free trial. FuboTV offers a seven-day free trial, DirecTV Stream has a five-day free trial and Hulu + Live TV has a three-day free trial.
- Download and Install the Streaming App
- Each of the abovementioned streaming services has Android apps on the Google Play store. Choose the one you want and install it on your Android smartphone or TV.
- Start Enjoying NBA Games
- You can stream all the NBA games you like before the free trial window elapses.
How to Watch Past NBA Games for Free
The best place to watch past NBA games for free is on YouTube. There’s an official NBA account on YouTube that regularly posts past games and highlights. You can also watch more than 500 classic NBA games on the NBA app, which is available on iOS, Android, Roku and the Amazon Store.
Most of the channels I’ve highlighted above allow on-demand replays of games that they recently livestreamed. You can use this feature to rewatch games like the 2024 NBA finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, which likely won’t be on YouTube for some time.
Step by Step: How to Watch NBA Games for Free
Streaming sites like FuboTV, DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV and Ran.de offer free NBA games in varying capacities. However, they’re available only in specific countries, so you’ll likely need a VPN to access them. As an example, here’s how you can unblock Ran.de if you’re outside Germany.
1. Subscribe to a VPN
Subscribe to a VPN price plan that fits your budget and create an account. Most importantly, the VPN you choose must have German server locations. I recommend NordVPN, which has uncrowded German servers.
2. Install the VPN
Download the VPN app to your preferred streaming device. This could be your PC, mobile or smart TV, since Ran.de can be accessed via apps on all those platforms.
3. Sign In to Your Account
Enter your login credentials in the VPN app.
4. Connect to a German Server
Scroll through the server list until you find Germany and click the country name to connect. Alternatively, you can type “Germany” into the search bar to find it quickly. You can now stream NBA games for free on Ran.de.
Connecting to DirecTV Stream, FuboTV or Hulu involves a similar process — just use a server in the United States instead of Germany.
NordVPN: The Best VPN to Watch NBA Games for Free
- $3.99 per monthPros
- Easy to operate
- Unblocks every major streaming service
- Great savings on one- & two-year plans
- Includes a kill switch & ad blocker
- Strict no-logs policy
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons- Suffered a security breach in the past
- Split tunneling isn’t available on all OSes
- Mobile UI map challenging
Free trialMobile onlyMoney-Back Guarantee30 DaysWorldwide Server AmountOver 5,400+ servers in 59 countriesSimultaneous Connections10Works with
Streaming Access
NordVPN has a lot going for it when you’re streaming NBA games for free. It has 5,400+ servers in 59 countries — including the U.S. and Germany — so you can unblock Hulu, DirecTV Stream, FuboTV and Ran.de from any country in the world.
NordVPN’s proprietary Nordlynx protocol is one of the fastest options, ensuring you’ll never experience buffering when streaming live games. Since it hides your IP address, there’s no risk of being banned by the streaming sites for accessing content from restricted regions. Read more in our NordVPN review.
Conclusion
Finding a legal way to stream NBA games isn’t easy. Your best shot is using streaming platforms like FuboTV that offer free trials, or sites like Ran.de that provide a selection of NBA games for free. If you live outside the designated regions for those platforms, you will need a VPN to access these games.
NordVPN is the best VPN for watching NBA games for free. It has a large server network for unblocking content and fast speeds for buffer-free streaming.
Have you tried streaming NBA games for free before? Which streaming service worked best for you? Did you need a VPN to access the site? Tell us your experiences in the comments section below, and keep reading our blog for more informative content.
FAQ: NBA Streaming
Where Can I Watch the NBA for Free?
You can watch the NBA for free through plans with free trials on FuboTV, DirecTV Stream or Hulu + Live TV. Another option is Ran.de, which is completely free but limited to only two NBA games per week.How to Watch Full NBA Games?
You can watch full NBA games by subscribing to a streaming service that has the broadcasting rights for the games.Where Can I Stream NBA Finals Game 3?
You can stream Game 3 and the rest of the NBA Finals live on sports streaming platforms like DirecTV Stream, Hulu or FuboTV.How to Watch Game 4 NBA Finals?
You can watch Game 4 of the NBA finals on any available sports streaming service, such as FuboTV, NBA League Pass or DirecTV Stream.
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