NBA Playoffs Live Stream Guide | Watch NBA Playoff Games
TV Channels Airing NBA Playoff Games
TV provider plans with all channels that air NBA playoff games (ABC, ESPN, TNT & NBA)
Watch the NBA Playoffs live on TV or stream NBA Playoffs games online -- find all cable, satellite and internet TV providers airing each game plus every live stream link and app download needed to watch on most any device. Watch locally for free, pick between the best cable packages and see all the announcers for every broadcast.
Watch/Stream NBA Playoffs
The NBA Playoffs are a three round, best-of-seven single elimination tournament that determines the league's East/West conference champions. The top eight teams from each conference are ranked by regular season win-loss records and seeded accordingly.
All NBA Playoffs games are nationally broadcast and air on a combination of ESPN, ABC, TNT and NBA TV. This table shows which networks air which rounds, the primary broadcaster duos for each network, and the live stream and app downloads so you can watch the games from your computer or mobile device, provided you login with your cable info.
TV Channel | NBA Playoffs Coverage | Main Play-by-Play | Color Commentary | Live Stream | App |
TNT | First Round, Semis, Conf Champ | Marv Albert, Spero Dedes | Reggie Miller, Chris Webber | Watch TNT | TNT app |
ESPN | First Round, Semis, Conf Champ | Mike Breen | Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy | WatchESPN | ESPN app |
ABC | First Round, Semis, Finals | Mike Breen | Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy | WatchESPN | ESPN app |
NBA-TV | First Round only | Brian Anderson | Greg Anthony | NBA TV | NBA app |
To see all cable providers and plans that carry all four of these networks, use the table in this guide. Keep in mind ABC is a local channel (over-the-air); you can pick up the signal for free with a digital antenna. We also provide a more detailed breakdown of the NBA Playoffs per round just below.
Watch the First Round of NBA Playoffs
The NBA Playoffs begin with the conference quarterfinals, also known as the first round. The top eight teams from the East and West face off in four series match-ups per conference, based on seeding: 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5. The winner from each series moves on to the conference semifinals (second round).
TNT, ESPN and ABC split coverage of the first round of playoff broadcasting, with just a few games also airing on NBA-TV. Coverage isn't dependent on conference; any series can appear on any given network. And during the first round only, regional TV networks can also air playoff games locally. Check local listings with your cable provider if you prefer the local broadcast.
All first round playoff games can be watched on your TV or streamed live from any Android or Apple mobile phone or tablet, along with many other popular streaming devices. Cable login info required to access live feeds.
Watch the Conference Semifinals
The teams that make it out of the first round per conference face-off in another best-of-seven series in the Conference Semifinals, where the highest ranked teams take on the lowest remaining seeds, leaving the middle seeds from each conference to play each other.
Second round NBA playoffs are split between TNT, ESPN and ABC. All air nationally. Once you have a cable package that includes all networks, its as easy as logging in with your user and password to gain access to the live streams. All games from this round live stream from the links provided in this table.
Previous NBA Playoff Games (EST)
Watch the NBA Playoffs Conference Finals
The two winning teams from each conferences' semifinal games face-off in another series, this time to determine who gets crowned the Conference Champions, and more importantly, which team gets to represent their conference in the NBA Finals.
TNT and ESPN perfectly split coverage of the NBA Playoffs Conference Finals; TNT airs one series to completion and ESPN the other. For years ending with an even number that means ESPN will air the Eastern Conference Finals and TNT will air the Western Conference Finals. And vice versa for years ending with an odd number.