The NBA’s 2021 season gets underway in the next couple of days with the Warriors at the Nets and the LA Laker hosting the Clippers. The start of a new season is always an exciting time for basketball fans across the country and the globe.
Unfortunately for local fans, the chance to watch their teams live and in-person could be minimal at least in the early part of the season. Covid-19 restrictions across the country mean teams could be unable to play matches in their own stadiums.
Even where teams are permitted to play their home games in their stadium, reduced fan-capacity will make it difficult for many to get tickets.
Luckily, the NBA and various broadcasters have stepped up their game to allow more access to the games for fans who want to keep up with NBA matches news and info across the league.
Here are some of the legal ways you can keep up with live scores and follow the games.
NBA TV
This is the official streaming service from the NBA and is available on a subscription service or as a day pass.
The most feature-packed package is the NBA League Pass, which showcases all regular-season games live and on-demand as long as they aren’t subject to a regional or national blackout.
The league pass is perfect for the fan who wants to keep up with all the games live on various devices.
The 24-hour day pass can be used to watch live games for a single 24-hour period so is great for fans who wish to watch a selection of a few specific games but aren’t interested in streaming many others throughout the season.
NBA TV also features on-demand games all the way back to 2012 as well as full-length replays of this year’s matches.
Finally, their 24/7 live feature means you can keep up with the latest news as well as game analysis and trade-breakdowns around the clock. All these features make NBA TV the ideal all-in-one service for dedicated NBA fans.
NBA’s Live Scores App
This is another official NBA service but this time it’s a free one. The NBA live scores app lets you keep up to date with league news around the clock and also displays live match scores.
The app will even display a personalized feed based on the teams you want to hear about, which makes it an excellent service for when you are on the go and aren’t able to watch any live basketball.
The NBA: Live Games & Scores app can be downloaded on both the Apple store and Google Play store.
Betting Apps and Websites
This one may be a little bit unexpected but is useful if you’re already using betting apps and don’t want to download any dedicated apps like the one above.
Any sports betting app or website that allows you to place bets on NBA matches will also have live updates of the scores. Some providers even go a little further and will display some real-time stats as well.
Furthermore, many of the smartphone apps allow you to set up notifications for chosen events so you can be kept informed as soon as something noteworthy happens. It should be noted that some apps will only allow notifications for games that you have placed bets on.
If all of that wasn’t enough, there are even a handful of providers that will show a live stream of the matches inside their app. However, this does depend on broadcast rights so might not be available for specific games or any at all depending on the area you live in.
For example, SkyBet who is based in the UK shows a large number of NBA matches for free on the smartphone app.
So, they may not be the traditional place to stay updated with NBA scores but betting apps could offer what you’re looking for especially if you like to have a wager on the action.
Please don’t use illegal streaming websites
Maybe you have already heard of some notorious streaming websites where you can watch the NBA games for free directly in your browser. As you can imagine those services are illegal and can be accompanied by some real threats: You put yourself at risk of criminal prosecution and there is also a problem with cyber criminality on those sites.
If you don’t want to get arrested or catch a computer virus that spies on your banking information, better stay on the legal path and pay for streaming the games live. This also supports the clubs which have to compensate for the unsold tickets.