The 2026/27 NBA season starts on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, with three games on NBC and Peacock from 3 p.m. ET (8 p.m. UK). Here’s who shows the games in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, the first-week schedule and how to use your own service abroad.
Wondering how to watch NBA opening night? In the US it’s simple: all three games on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, air on NBC and stream on Peacock. The 2026/27 season tips off at 3 p.m. ET (8 p.m. in the UK) with Celtics vs. Pistons in Detroit, and Sky Sports shows all three games live in the UK.
The middle game is the one to circle. LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and the new-look 76ers visit Madison Square Garden, where the New York Knicks raise their championship banner. Thunder vs. Spurs closes the night at 9:30 p.m. ET.
One catch: Peacock checks where you connect from. On a trip to Europe or Mexico, the app you pay for at home may not play a single game. Here’s who shows the games, the first-week schedule and how to keep your stream working on the road.
Here’s who carries the season in the four biggest English-speaking markets, as of October 15, 2026.
Country | Where to watch | Free? |
|---|---|---|
United States | NBC, Peacock, ESPN, ABC, Prime Video, NBA TV | Streams need a plan |
United Kingdom | Sky Sports, League Pass | No, subscription |
Canada | Prime Video, TSN, Sportsnet, League Pass | No, subscription |
Australia | ESPN on Disney+, Foxtel, League Pass | No, subscription |
In the UK, Sky Sports has all three opening night games live. Celtics vs. Pistons is on Sky Sports Mix at 8 p.m., then 76ers vs. Knicks at midnight and Thunder vs. Spurs at 2:30 a.m. on Sky Sports Main Event and Mix. Our guide to streaming services in the UK covers the rest of the market.
Canada gets a new option this season. Prime Video streams NBA games for Prime members from 2026/27, with 66 regular-season games. TSN and Sportsnet again split the Raptors schedule. Who shows opening night in Canada wasn’t confirmed as of October 15, 2026. The Raptors start on Wednesday, October 21, at home to the Bulls at 7:30 p.m. ET.
In Australia, ESPN’s NBA coverage is on Disney+ and Foxtel.
In year two of the league’s 11-year TV deals, NBC and Peacock carry 100 regular-season games, ABC and ESPN 80, Prime Video 66 and NBA TV 60. As a rule, Mondays belong to Peacock, Tuesdays to NBC and Peacock, Wednesdays to ESPN and Fridays to Prime Video, which adds Thursdays and Saturdays from midseason.
Every national game also streams: ABC and ESPN games on ESPN’s streaming service, NBC games on Peacock. For everything else, see our list of streaming services in the US.
NBA League Pass fills the gaps, but in the US it only shows out-of-market games. National broadcasts and your local team’s games are blacked out in the US and Canada. Outside those two countries, a season pass covers every game live and on demand, including the Play-In, playoffs, Finals and Summer League, with no blackouts.
Short answer: we found no official way to watch full NBA games for free in the UK, Canada, Australia or Europe as of October 15, 2026. Sky Sports, Prime Video, Disney+ and League Pass all need a paid plan.
In the US, opening night is on NBC, and local NBC stations carry the tripleheader. If you want to stream it, that means Peacock, a paid service. ESPN’s streaming service, Prime Video and League Pass need subscriptions too.
Your best bet is the service you already pay for, and abroad it may stop working. That’s where a VPN comes in.
Peacock reads your IP address before it plays anything. Open it in a hotel in Lisbon and you may get an error instead of Celtics vs. Pistons, even though you pay every month. Sky Sports, Prime Video and Disney+ check your location too.
A VPN from our table gets you back in. Connect to a server in your home country, open your usual app and sign in. The service sees a home connection and plays the game. You keep paying for your own subscription and get the games your plan includes, as at home.
| VPN Service | Price | Peacock | Tested | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 NordVPNBEST | From $2.99/mo | ✓ Works | October 17 | Try it |
 Surfshark | From $1.78/mo | ✓ Works | October 19 | Open |
 ExpressVPN | From $2.79/mo | ✓ Works | October 19 | Open |
 ProtonVPN | From $3.59/mo | ✓ Works | October 14 | Open |
 Private Internet Access | From $1.79/mo | ✓ Works | October 18 | Open |
 CyberGhost | From $1.75/mo | ✓ Works | October 15 | Open |
 IPVanish | From $2.19/mo | ~ Partial | October 18 | Open |
✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works~ PartialThe ranking in the table is based on StreamFix data, and our VPN ranking methodology explains how each provider is scored. Living abroad for longer? Here’s how to watch US streaming services from anywhere and how to watch UK TV from anywhere.
Pick a VPN from the table
Choose one that currently works with Peacock according to StreamFix data.
Install the app
Put it on the phone, laptop or TV you plan to watch on.
Connect to a server at home
The US for Peacock, NBC, ESPN and NBA TV, the UK for Sky Sports, Canada for TSN or Sportsnet, Australia for Disney+.
Sign in and watch
Log in with your own account and open the stream a few minutes before tip-off.
Every game below is a US national broadcast. Times are ET, with UK time in parentheses; UK times after midnight fall on the next day.
Game | US TV, ET and UK time |
|---|---|
Celtics vs. Pistons | NBC and Peacock, 3 p.m. ET (8 p.m. UK) |
76ers vs. Knicks | NBC and Peacock, 7 p.m. ET (midnight UK) |
Thunder vs. Spurs | NBC and Peacock, 9:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. UK) |
On the West Coast, that’s noon, 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. PT. In Sydney, the games start at 6 a.m., 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. AEDT on Wednesday.
UK clocks go back on Sunday, October 25, but the US waits until November 1, so the UK is five hours ahead of ET until Saturday and four from Sunday. In bold: the Canadian headliner, Jamal Murray’s Nuggets at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder.
Game | US TV, ET and UK time |
|---|---|
Wed, Oct 21: Timberwolves vs. Heat | ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET (12:30 a.m. UK) |
Wed, Oct 21: Warriors vs. Lakers | ESPN, 10 p.m. ET (3 a.m. UK) |
Thu, Oct 22: Nuggets vs. Thunder | ESPN, 9:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. UK) |
Fri, Oct 23: Knicks vs. Celtics | Prime Video, 7 p.m. ET (midnight UK) |
Fri, Oct 23: Rockets vs. Spurs | Prime Video, 9:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. UK) |
Sat, Oct 24: Bucks vs. 76ers | NBA TV, 7:30 p.m. ET (12:30 a.m. UK) |
Sun, Oct 25: Raptors vs. Timberwolves | NBA TV, 7 p.m. ET (11 p.m. UK) |
Mon, Oct 26: Warriors vs. Nuggets | Peacock, 10 p.m. ET (2 a.m. UK) |
Timberwolves vs. Heat is the debut night for Giannis Antetokounmpo in Miami and LaMelo Ball in Minnesota. Prime Video opens its second NBA season at TD Garden, and Rockets vs. Spurs is played in Austin. Peacock’s Monday games (up to two a week) start on October 26, NBC’s Coast 2 Coast Tuesday on October 27.
Canada sends a deep group into 2026/27. Teams below reflect rosters before the start of the season, as of October 15 (rosters lock on October 19).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the Thunder, who close opening night in San Antonio. Jamal Murray is with Denver, RJ Barrett with Toronto, Andrew Wiggins with Miami and Dillon Brooks with Phoenix. Shaedon Sharpe plays for Portland, Zach Edey for Memphis, Andrew Nembhard for Indiana and Bennedict Mathurin for New Orleans.
Raptors fans have a fresh storyline: Kawhi Leonard is back in Toronto after a September 14 trade with the Clippers. Beyond Canada, Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in 2023, leads the Spurs against the Thunder on opening night. Ja Morant now plays for Portland after his trade from Memphis, and Jalen Brunson starts the season as the reigning Finals MVP.
The facts first. The New York Knicks are the defending champions. They beat the Spurs 4 to 1 in the 2026 Finals and closed it out 94 to 90 in Game 5, their first title since 1973.
The summer reshuffled the league. Giannis Antetokounmpo joined the Miami Heat from Milwaukee in a trade announced on July 6, 2026, along with Bobby Portis Jr., and will wear No. 7. LeBron James left the Lakers as a free agent and starts his 24th season with the 76ers. Jaylen Brown joined him in Philadelphia in a trade that sent Paul George to Boston. LaMelo Ball moved to Minnesota in a four-team trade, and Walker Kessler joined the Lakers from Utah.
Our take, an editorial opinion and not a betting tip: the Knicks start as the team to beat, and the Spurs deserve close attention after their Finals run. Miami and Philadelphia look dangerous on paper, but new stars rarely click in week one.
The Emirates NBA Cup group stage starts on October 30, on Prime Video in the US, and runs to November 27. The final is on December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Outside the US and Canada, League Pass carries every Cup game.
Denver and Indiana meet in Mexico City on November 7 at Arena CDMX. Then come the Paris Game on January 14, 2027, Spurs vs. Pelicans at the Accor Arena (2 p.m. ET), and the Manchester Game on January 17. Both are exclusive to Prime Video in Europe. The regular season ends on April 11, 2027.
Check the server country. Geoblocking is the usual cause, so connect to a server in the country of your service: the US for Peacock, the UK for Sky Sports.
Switch servers. Still blocked? Pick another server in the same country and reload the app.
Clear the cache. Your app may remember your real location. Clear cookies, open a private window or restart the app.
Check your account. A VPN doesn’t replace a paid plan. Peacock, Sky Sports, Prime Video and League Pass still need your own active subscription.
Test before Tuesday. Try your setup on Monday, not five minutes before the 3 p.m. ET tip-off on October 20.
Away from home on October 20? Set up a VPN before game day, connect to a server in your home country and watch on the service you already pay for. This VPN tops our Peacock table right now:
Our best VPN comparison covers every provider. Following F1 this month? Here’s where to watch the US Grand Prix 2026 in Austin and how to watch the Mexico City Grand Prix 2026. The NFL also heads to Europe this fall, with Paris on October 25, Madrid on November 8 and Munich on November 15, 2026: here is where to watch the NFL games in Europe.
PeacockPartly available6 of 194tracked countriesOn Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Celtics vs. Pistons tips off at 3 p.m. ET (noon PT, 8 p.m. in the UK), followed by 76ers vs. Knicks and Thunder vs. Spurs, all on NBC and Peacock. The regular season ends on April 11, 2027.
In the US, all three games are on NBC and stream on Peacock. In the UK, Sky Sports shows all three live, from 8 p.m. UK time. The Canadian broadcaster for opening night wasn’t confirmed as of October 15, 2026.
Only for the games on NBC and Peacock, which carry 100 regular-season games including opening night and Monday nights from October 26. ABC and ESPN have 80 games, Prime Video 66 and NBA TV 60, so most fans need more than one service.
We found no official free way to watch full games in the UK, Canada, Australia or Europe as of October 15, 2026. In the US, opening night is on NBC, but streaming it means Peacock, a paid service. Our list of streaming platforms by country shows what each market offers.
Yes, in the US and Canada. There, League Pass only shows out-of-market games, and national and local broadcasts are blacked out. Outside the US and Canada, League Pass has every game live and on demand, with no blackouts.
Use the local rights holder, such as Sky Sports in the UK or ESPN on Disney+ in Australia, or League Pass. Traveling with your US subscription? Connect a VPN from our table to a US server, sign in to Peacock or your other service and watch as you would at home.
Using a VPN is legal in most countries. What a streaming service shows you over a VPN is up to that service, which is why it pays to pick a VPN from our table that currently works with Peacock according to StreamFix data. You keep paying for your own subscription either way.
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