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NBA League Pass: Cost, Coverage, and What's Actually Included
The NBA's direct-to-consumer subscription, explained: pricing, blackouts, premium tier, and when it makes sense.
NBA League Pass is the league’s direct-to-consumer streaming subscription, sold by the NBA itself rather than by a broadcast partner. It exists to give fans out-of-market access to every team’s games — the games that are not on national TV and that you cannot watch on a regional sports network because you live in another market.
Current pricing (2025-26 season)
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Team Pass | $149.99/season or $19.99/mo | Every out-of-market game of one selected team |
| League Pass | $179.99/season or $24.99/mo | Every out-of-market game across the league |
| League Pass Premium | $249.99/season or $34.99/mo | Above, ad-free, plus in-arena audio feeds and the ability to watch on multiple devices simultaneously |
Annual prices are billed once for the full season (October through June). Monthly billing is available but works out to roughly twice the cost of an annual subscription if you keep it for the full season.
The NBA Store sometimes runs Team Pass promotions tied to specific team activations — check around the start of the season.
What League Pass includes
- Every regular-season game that is not on a national broadcaster
- Every preseason game
- Replays, condensed games, and full-season VOD
- Multiple commentary feeds (home, away, and selected international feeds)
- The NBA app’s classic games library
- WNBA games (rolled into the same subscription as of the most recent product update — confirm at sign-up)
What League Pass does not include
- Nationally televised games. Games on ESPN, ABC, NBC, Peacock, and Amazon Prime are not on League Pass. Those go to the rights-holding network only. For a national-broadcast game you need to subscribe to that broadcaster.
- Your in-market team’s games. If you live in your team’s local market, that team’s games are blacked out on League Pass. Those go only to the team’s RSN.
- The NBA Finals (typically ABC).
- NBA Cup games that are on a national broadcaster.
The blackout rule is the most-misunderstood part of the product. If you live in Los Angeles, League Pass will not show you Lakers games. Those go to Spectrum SportsNet LA. League Pass shows you every other team’s games.
When League Pass makes sense
League Pass makes sense for:
- Out-of-market fans of a specific team — buy Team Pass for $149.99 and watch your team’s full out-of-market schedule.
- NBA generalists — League Pass gives you the entire out-of-market league for $179.99.
- Fantasy and DFS players — Premium’s multi-device support is worth the upgrade.
- International fans — international NBA League Pass pricing varies, with some markets significantly cheaper than the US (the NBA sells the product in roughly 200 countries).
When it doesn’t
League Pass does not work as your sole NBA subscription if:
- You only care about your home team and live in that team’s market — buy the RSN instead.
- You only watch nationally televised games — Peacock, Amazon Prime, and your live TV service cover those without League Pass.
- You only watch the playoffs — most playoff games go to national TV. League Pass shows the first-round games not picked up nationally, which is a shrinking number under the new rights deal.
How to subscribe
The cleanest sign-up path is NBA.com/leaguepass or the NBA app. The app handles billing through Apple, Google, or direct card billing depending on platform. Avoid third-party resellers — there are none authorized by the NBA, and any “discounted League Pass” offered outside the league’s own channels is not a legal product.
Cross-reference: our NBA broadcaster map explains how League Pass fits with the national broadcasters. UK readers — see our UK NBA guide for the Sky Sports picture.
As of . Broadcast rights change between seasons — always confirm with the named broadcaster before subscribing.