Short answer: for the 2026-27 NBA season, the cheapest way to see most nationally televised games is Peacock Premium ($12.99) plus Amazon Prime ($14.99) plus a free antenna for NBC and ABC, about $28 a month. Add ESPN Unlimited if you want the Wednesday ESPN games and the Western Conference Finals. The catch is your home team. Most of its games are on a regional sports network or a team app, and none of the national services carry them. League Pass blacks them out too.
At a glance
Who has the NBA in 2026-27
| NBC / Peacock | About 100 games, All-Star Weekend |
| ESPN / ABC | About 80 games, NBA Finals |
| Prime Video | About 66 games, NBA Cup knockouts, Play-In |
| League Pass | Out-of-market games only |
| Season starts | October 20, 2026 |
The 2026-27 TV map
This is the second season of the NBA's 11-year deals, and the split is now settled. TNT is gone. Three partners share the national games, and each has its own night.
| Partner | Where to stream | Price (Sept 2026) | Main nights | Playoff highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBC | Peacock, or antenna | $12.99/mo Premium | Mon (Peacock), Tue, Sun night | Conference playoffs, All-Star |
| ESPN / ABC | ESPN Unlimited, or antenna for ABC | $31.99/mo | Wed, weekends mid-season | Western Conf. Finals, Finals |
| Prime Video | Amazon Prime | $14.99/mo or $139/yr | Fri, later Thu and Sat | Play-In, Eastern Conf. Finals |
| League Pass | NBA App | from about $16.99/mo | Everything else, out of market | None live |
The NBA opens on October 20 with a tripleheader on NBC and Peacock. The Christmas slate is on ESPN and ABC. Prices for League Pass are based on last season's published rates, since the NBA usually confirms new ones close to opening night.
Four setups by budget
Free: antenna only
NBC's Tuesday and Sunday games and ABC's weekend games air over the air. A $30 antenna catches them if you're in range. That's a surprising number of games for nothing, including the NBA Finals on ABC. It won't get you Peacock-exclusive Monday games or anything on ESPN cable or Prime. Check your reception first.
About $28 a month: Peacock + Prime + antenna
This is the value pick. Peacock Premium gets you NBC's streaming-only games; Prime covers Friday nights, the NBA Cup knockouts and the Play-In. The antenna takes care of ABC. Many households already have Prime for shipping, which makes the real cost $12.99. Students can get Peacock for $5.99.
About $60 a month: add ESPN Unlimited
Now you have every national game. ESPN Unlimited is $31.99 monthly. If you already want ESPN for football, this is the obvious move. If you don't, the ESPN games you'd miss are mostly Wednesday doubleheaders, which may not justify $32. The cheapest ways to get ESPN compares the options.
About $65 to $83 a month: a live TV service
YouTube TV's Sports Plan ($64.99) gives you ESPN, ABC and NBC in one app with DVR, but not the Peacock or Prime exclusives. You'd still need both of those. For basketball alone, the app stack above is cheaper.
Your home team is a separate problem
Every NBA team has local TV rights for the games not picked for national TV, usually 60 to 70 a season. Those go to a regional sports network like FanDuel Sports Network, a team-owned channel, or, increasingly, free local broadcast stations.
That means none of the national subscriptions above show most of your team's games. League Pass doesn't either, because it blacks out games in your home market. The options depend on your team:
- Free broadcast. A handful of teams now put local games on over-the-air stations. If yours does, an antenna solves it.
- Direct team or RSN app. FanDuel Sports Network and several team apps sell streaming subscriptions directly. Prices vary, often somewhere around $20 a month or discounted for a full season.
- Live TV service. DirecTV's Choice tier carries the most regional networks. Fubo carries some.
Check your team's official site for "how to watch" before buying anything. It's the only reliable source because these deals change every year.
Is League Pass worth it?
Only if you follow a team in another market. League Pass shows out-of-market games that aren't on national TV. The standard plan ran about $16.99 a month or $109.99 a year last season, Premium (no ads, three streams) about $24.99 or $159.99, and Team Pass (one team) about $13.99 or $89.99.
Two limits people miss. Nationally televised games are blacked out live and come back as replays a few hours later. And playoff games aren't on League Pass live at all, since they're all national. Buy it for October to April.
For a Celtics fan in Denver, Team Pass is the cheapest way to follow your team, full stop. For a Nuggets fan in Denver, it's useless.
Playoffs: plan for April now
In the postseason, every game is national, split across the three partners. Prime has all six Play-In games exclusively and the Eastern Conference Finals. ESPN and ABC have the Western Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. NBC has conference semifinal and first-round series.
So for a full playoff run you want all three: Peacock, Prime, and ESPN or an antenna for ABC. It's the one stretch where cancelling any of them costs you games. The good news is that you can drop League Pass at that point.
What a full season actually costs
Monthly prices hide the real number. Here's the October-to-June total for each setup, using September 2026 list prices and nine months of service.
| Setup | Season cost | National games covered | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antenna only | about $30 once | NBC broadcast + ABC | Only if on local TV |
| Peacock + antenna (you already have Prime) | about $147 | All but ESPN cable games | No |
| Peacock + Prime + antenna | about $281 | All but ESPN cable games | No |
| Peacock + Prime + ESPN Unlimited | about $540 | All | No |
| League Pass annual + Peacock + Prime | about $362 | Most, plus out-of-market | Blacked out |
Most fans overpay by stacking everything from October. You can usually skip ESPN until the playoffs, when ABC and ESPN carry the biggest series, and even then an antenna gets you the ABC games.
Devices that handle all three apps
Peacock, Prime Video, ESPN and the NBA App all run on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, recent Samsung and LG TVs, and game consoles. If your TV's built-in apps are slow at tip-off, a $30 to $50 streaming stick is the fix. Prime's NBA games stream in 1080p with HDR on supported devices, and Peacock offers some games in 4K; neither needs more than about 25 Mbps for one stream. Streaming device picks.
Small ways to pay less
- Pay Peacock annually if you'll use it all season. $129.99 a year beats twelve monthly payments by about $26.
- Rotate ESPN. Subscribe for the months you'll watch; skip December if football's done and the Wednesday slate doesn't interest you.
- Check your phone plan and cards. Wireless carriers and credit cards regularly bundle Peacock, Prime or ESPN at no cost.
- Buy League Pass after the trade deadline. Prices have dropped mid-season in past years.
- Skip anything claiming every game for $10. These are unlicensed and fail during big games. Watching sports legally over the internet explains what works.
Quick answers
What's the cheapest way to watch the NBA in 2026-27? An antenna for NBC and ABC plus Peacock Premium and Amazon Prime, about $28 a month.
Is TNT still showing NBA games? No. TNT's NBA deal ended after the 2024-25 season.
Does League Pass show my local team? No. In-market games are blacked out and are on your regional network or local broadcast instead.
Where is the NBA Finals in 2027? ABC, which is free with an antenna, and streaming on ESPN.
Do I need Prime for the Play-In? Yes. Prime Video has all six Play-In games exclusively.
How much is League Pass? Around $16.99 a month or $109.99 a year last season; confirm 2026-27 rates in the NBA App.
When does the season start? October 20, 2026, on NBC and Peacock.
Game counts and partner assignments are from the NBA's published 2026-27 viewing guide; League Pass prices are last season's rates pending confirmation. Local team rights vary by market. Checked September 2026.