The 2025 NBA season, the league's 80th, will kick off on Tuesday, October 21st, featuring two back-to-back games—first, the Houston Rockets vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder, and then the Golden State Warriors vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. These two games highlight two key questions of the 2025 NBA season,
both of which will be addressed that night:
Can the Thunder continue their dominance this year?
And will this be LeBron James' final season?
However, the Lakers star will miss the team's opening game due to sciatica.
Tuesday, October 21st, marks the official start of a nine-month basketball extravaganza. Here's how to watch the 2025 NBA season, even without cable TV.
When does the 2025 NBA season start?
The 2025 NBA season opens on Tuesday, October 21st. On opening night, NBC will broadcast two back-to-back games: the Houston Rockets vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder, followed by the Golden State Warriors vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.
What channels will broadcast the 2025 NBA games?
The 2025 NBA season will be broadcast on both NBC and ESPN, and will be available on the Peacock streaming platform, the ESPN app, and Prime Video (Amazon Prime Video). Fans can also subscribe to NBA League Pass to watch many games of non-local teams.
Don't have cable? Here's what you need to know to watch all the NBA games during the 2025-26 season.
How to watch the 2025 NBA games without cable?
1.Watch NBA games on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday: DirecTV
DirecTV's Entertainment tier offers a variety of channels to meet your 2025 NBA season needs. This plan allows you to watch Tuesday's games on your local NBC affiliate, Wednesday's games on ESPN, Saturday's games on ABC and ESPN, and Sunday's games on NBC and ABC.
Currently, DirecTV's Entertainment plan (normally $94.99 per month including service) is on sale for just $49.99 for the first month ($59.99 including service).
You can also add NBA League Pass to your plan and get the newly upgraded ESPN app unlimited streaming plan for free, along with unlimited cloud storage for recorded content.
A five-day free trial is currently available for all of these services. Therefore, if you're interested in trying a live TV streaming service for the NBA season but aren't ready for a long-term commitment, DirecTV is a good place to start.
2. Watch NBA games on Monday, Tuesday, and Sunday: Peacock
Subscriptions to the Peacock streaming platform start at $11 per month and allow you to watch all NBA games broadcast on NBC, as well as Monday night NBA games exclusively on Peacock. Subscribing to the service also includes access to NBC's broadcasts of the NFL, select college football games, and the Premier League, as well as thousands of hours of TV and film content, including popular sitcoms like "Parks and Recreation" and "The Office."
For $17 per month, you can upgrade to an ad-free plan, which not only allows you to watch local NBC affiliates live at any time (not just during designated sporting events) but also allows you to download some shows for offline viewing.
If you think Peacock's recent price increase is too high, consider bundling it with other subscription services to save money before the NBA season: Peacock recently launched a bundle with Apple TV—Apple TV and Peacock Premium for just $14.99 per month; the ad-free Apple TV bundle with Peacock Premium Plus for $19.99 per month.
3. Watch Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday NBA games: ESPN Unlimited
ESPN's newly upgraded streaming platform offers thousands of exclusive live events, original studio programming, and popular series across ESPN's seven linear TV channels, as well as exclusive content from ESPN+, ABC on ESPN, SEC+, and ACCNX, as well as select content from NFL Network and NFL RedZone. This new plan is priced at $29.99 per month or $299.99 per year.
Subscribing to ESPN Unlimited gives you access to Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon NBA games all season long.
Notably, for the first year of ESPN Unlimited, subscribers get a free bundle of Disney+ and Hulu at no additional cost!
4. Watch exclusive NBA back-to-back games on Friday: Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is the exclusive streaming platform for NBA Friday night back-to-back games and, starting in 2026, will also be the exclusive streaming platform for NBA Thursday night games.
In addition to Amazon Prime Video, an Amazon Prime subscription offers free delivery, exclusive offers, access to Prime Day sales, access to Amazon Music, a free year of GrubHub+ membership, and more. A standard Amazon Prime subscription costs $15 per month or $139 per year, with discounts available for students and those eligible for government assistance. New customers can try Amazon Prime for 30 days free.
2025 NBA Season Opening Week Schedule
October 21 (Tuesday)
Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – 7:30 PM (Streaming: NBC/Peacock)
Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 10:00 PM (Streaming: NBC/Peacock)
October 22 (Wednesday)
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks – 7:00 PM (Streaming: ESPN)
Brooklyn Nets vs. Charlotte Hornets – 7:00 PM (Streaming: NBA League Pass)
Miami Heat vs. Orlando Magic – 7:00 PM (Streaming: NBA League Pass)
Toronto Raptors vs. Atlanta Hawks – 7:30 PM (Streaming: NBA League Pass)
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics – 7:30 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Detroit Pistons vs. Chicago Bulls – 8:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Memphis Grizzlies – 8:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Washington Wizards vs. Milwaukee Bucks – 8:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Utah Jazz – 9:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks – 9:30 PM (Live Stream: ESPN)
Sacramento Kings vs. Phoenix Suns – 10:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 10:00 PM (Live on NBA League Pass)
October 23 (Thursday)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers – 7:30 PM (Live on ESPN)
Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors – 10:00 PM (Live on ESPN)
October 24 (Friday)
Atlanta Hawks vs. Orlando Magic – 7:00 PM (Live on NBA League Pass)
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Brooklyn Nets – 7:30 PM (Live on NBA League Pass)
Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks – 7:30 PM (Live on Prime Video)
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Toronto Raptors – 7:30 PM (Live on NBA League Pass)
Detroit Pistons vs. Houston Rockets – 8:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Miami Heat vs. Memphis Grizzlies – 8:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans – 8:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Washington Wizards vs. Dallas Mavericks – 8:30 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 10:00 PM (Live Stream: Prime Video)
Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 10:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Utah Jazz vs. Sacramento Kings – 10:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Clippers – 10:30 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
October 25 (Saturday)
Chicago Bulls vs. Orlando Magic – 7:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Atlanta Hawks – 7:30 PM (Live Stream: NBA TV)
Charlotte Hornets vs. Philadelphia 76ers – 7:30 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Indiana Pacers vs. Memphis Grizzlies – 8:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Phoenix Suns vs. Denver Nuggets – 9:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
October 26 (Sunday)
Brooklyn Nets vs. San Antonio Spurs – 2:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Boston Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons – 3:30 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – 6:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat – 6:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Charlotte Hornets vs. Washington Wizards – 6:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Indiana Pacers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – 7:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Toronto Raptors vs. Dallas Mavericks – 7:30 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Clippers – 9:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings – 9:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
October 27 (Monday)
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons – 7:00 PM (Live Stream: Peacock)
Orlando Magic vs. Philadelphia 76ers – 7:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Atlanta Hawks vs. Chicago Bulls – 8:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Brooklyn Nets vs. Houston Rockets – 8:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Boston Celtics vs. New Orleans Pelicans – 8:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Toronto Raptors vs. San Antonio Spurs – 8:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks – 8:30 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Phoenix Suns vs. Utah Jazz – 9:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – 9:30 PM (Live Stream: Peacock)
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors – 10:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 10:30 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
October 28 (Tuesday)
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Wizards – 7:00 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
Charlotte Hornets vs. Miami Heat – 7:30 PM (Live Stream: NBA League Pass)
New York Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks – 8:00 PM (Stream on NBC/Peacock)
Sacramento Kings vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – 8:00 PM (Stream on NBA League Pass)
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors – 11:00 PM (Stream on NBC/Peacock)
More ways to watch the 2025 NBA season:
