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The 2025 NBA Playoffs have arrived, pitting 16 of the best teams against each other for the Larry O’Brien trophy. This year’s favorites are the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Play-In Tournament saw the Golden State Warriors and the Orlando Magic secure the No. 7 seeds, while the Grizzlies and Heat squeezed into the playoffs as No. 8 seeds.
However, as always, the NBA Playoffs are only available to watch on cable TV channels. If you’ve cut the cord since last season’s playoffs, read on. Ahead, we’ve put together a full guide on the best ways to livestream the NBA Playoffs without cable, including key details about basketball’s biggest tournament.
Coverage of the 2025 NBA Playoffs is primarily spread out across ESPN, ABC, and TNT, with a handful of games on NBA TV. If you don’t have cable, you’ll need to get a live TV streaming service that carries all of those channels to watch the NBA Playoffs online. Here are two of the best options, including a quick review of each:
best overall
Pros: Free trial, affordable genre packs, ESPN+ included
Cons: Not as many entertainment channels in genre packs as other options
DirecTV now offers packages that don’t require any hardware, but still deliver the same comprehensive live TV coverage you’d expect from the brand. Better yet, DirecTV now offers a streamlined “MySports” package that carries 20+ top sports channels — including ESPN, ABC, TNT, and NBA TV for NBA Playoffs livestreams. This package costs $69.99 a month (less than similar packages) and starts with a five-day free trial.
also consider
Pros: Tons of channels, easy to use
Cons: Requires combination of packages + add-ons, pricier than DirecTV MySports
Another great live TV streaming service you can use to watch the NBA Playoffs online is Sling. To get all four NBA Playoff channels with Sling (ESPN, ABC, TNT, and NBA TV), you’ll need the Orange + Blue package (starts at $66 a month) and the Sports Extra add-on ($15 a month). This brings the full cost to $81 a month. Sling does not currently offer a free trial, but you can get half off your first month of Orange + Blue.
Note: Two other popular live TV streaming services we recommend for the NBA Playoffs are Hulu + Live TV and Fubo. While both are great streaming services, they don’t include all four channels you need to stream the NBA Playoffs. Hulu + Live TV does not carry NBA TV, and Fubo does not carry TNT.
The 2025 NBA Playoffs start on April 19 and run through the NBA Finals. The Finals begin on June 5 and run as late as June 22, if a Game 7 is necessary.
Here’s the schedule for the first round of the NBA Playoffs:
(1) Cleveland vs. (8) TBD
Game 1: Heat at Cavaliers — Sun. April 20, 7 p.m. ET, TNTGame 2: Heat at Cavaliers — Wed. April 23, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TVGame 3: Cavaliers at Heat — Sat. April 26, 1 p.m. ET, TNTGame 4: Cavaliers at Heat — Mon. April 28, TBD* Game 5: Heat at Cavaliers — Wed. April 30, TBD* Game 6: Cavaliers at Heat — Fri. May 2, TBD* Game 7: Heat at Cavaliers — Sun. May 4, TBD
* if necessary
(2) Boston vs. (7) Orlando
Game 1: Magic at Celtics — Sun. April 20, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABCGame 2: Magic at Celtics — Wed. April 23, 7 p.m. ET, TNTGame 3: Celtics at Magic — Fri. April 25, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNGame 4: Celtics at Magic — Sun. April 27, 7 p.m. ET, TNT* Game 5: Magic at Celtics — Tue. April 29, TBD* Game 6: Celtics at Magic — Thu. May 1, TBD* Game 7: Magic at Celtics — Sat. May 3, TBD
* if necessary
(3) New York vs. (6) Detroit
Game 1: Pistons at Knicks — Sat. April 19, 6 p.m. ET, ESPNGame 2: Pistons at Knicks — Mon. April 21, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNTGame 3: Knicks at Pistons — Thu. April 24, 7 p.m. ET, TNTGame 4: Knicks at Pistons — Sun. April 27, 1 p.m. ET, ABC* Game 5: Pistons at Knicks — Tue. April 29, TBD* Game 6: Knicks at Pistons — Thu. May 1, TBD* Game 7: Pistons at Knicks — Sat. May 3, TBD
* if necessary
(4) Indiana vs. (5) Milwaukee
Game 1: Bucks at Pacers — Sat. April 19, 1 p.m. ET, ESPNGame 2: Bucks at Pacers — Tue. April 22, 7 p.m. ET, NBA TVGame 3: Pacers at Bucks — Fri. April 25, 8 p.m. ET, ESPNU/NBA TVGame 4: Pacers at Bucks — Sun. April 27, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT* Game 5: Bucks at Pacers — Tue. April 29, TBD* Game 6: Pacers at Bucks — Fri. May 2, TBD* Game 7: Bucks at Pacers — Sun. May 4, TBD
* if necessary
(1) Oklahoma City vs. (8) TBD
Game 1: Grizzlies at Thunder — Sun. April 20, 1 p.m. ET, ABCGame 2: Grizzlies at Thunder — Tue. April 22, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNTGame 3: Thunder at Grizzlies — Thu. April 24, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNTGame 4: Thunder at Grizzlies — Sat. April 26, 3:30 p.m. ET, TNT* Game 5: Grizzlies at Thunder — Mon. April 28, TBD* Game 6: Thunder at Grizzlies — Thu. May 1, TBD* Game 7: Grizzlies at Thunder — Sat. May 3, TBD
* if necessary
(2) Houston vs. (7) Golden State
Game 1: Warriors at Rockets — Sun. April 20, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNTGame 2: Warriors at Rockets — Wed. April 23, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNTGame 3: Rockets at Warriors — Sat. April 26, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABCGame 4: Rockets at Warriors — Mon. April 28, 10 ET, TNT* Game 5: Warriors at Rockets — Wed. April 30, TBD* Game 6: Rockets at Warriors — Fri. May 2, TBD* Game 7: Warriors at Rockets — Sun. May 4, TBD
* if necessary
(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Minnesota
Game 1: Timberwolves at Lakers — Sat. April 19, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABCGame 2: Timberwolves at Lakers — Tue. April 22, 10 p.m. ET, TNTGame 3: Lakers at Timberwolves — Fri. April 25, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPNGame 4: Lakers at Timberwolves — Sun. April 27, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)* Game 5: Timberwolves at Lakers — Wed. April 30, TBD* Game 6: Lakers at Timberwolves — Fri. May 2, TBD* Game 7: Timberwolves at Lakers — Sun. May 4, TBD
* if necessary
(4) Denver vs. (5) LA Clippers
Game 1: Clippers at Nuggets — Sat. April 19, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNGame 2: Clippers at Nuggets — Mon. April 21, 10 p.m. ET, TNTGame 3: Nuggets at Clippers — Thu. April 24, 10 p.m. ET, NBA TVGame 4: Nuggets at Clippers — Sat. April 26, 6 p.m. ET, TNT* Game 5: Clippers at Nuggets — Tue. April 29, TBD* Game 6: Nuggets at Clippers — Thu. May 1, TBD* Game 7: Clippers at Nuggets — Sat. May 3, TBD
* if necessary
