2026 NBA Preseason: How to Watch with Sling TV
Before the NBA regular season gets underway, subscribe to Sling Essentials + Sports Extra to watch NBA preseason games on NBA TV and ESPN.
The New York Knicks are defending champions for the first time in half a century. LeBron James is a Philadelphia 76er. Giannis Antetokounmpo wears a Miami Heat jersey. LaMelo Ball is a Minnesota Timberwolf, Kawhi Leonard is a Toronto Raptor again, and somewhere in Texas, Victor Wembanyama got even taller. If you blinked during the offseason, you missed a league that’s changed dramatically since the New York Knicks shocked the world in the NBA Playoffs; Jaylen Brown to Philly, Ja Morant on the move, Paul George relocated, and a draft class headlined by AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer waiting in the wings.
Which is a long way of saying: the exhibition games, which began on Oct. 3, actually matter this year. Not on the scoreboard — nobody's hanging a banner for an October win — but as the first real look at rosters that read like a fantasy draft gone haywire. The 2026 NBA preseason runs October 3 through October 16, and the first slate worth clearing your calendar for lands Tuesday, October 6. Here's how to catch it all with Sling.
How to watch NBA Preseason basketball with Sling
Here's the good news for your wallet: the nationally televised preseason games live on two channels Sling carries — ESPN (and ESPN2) and NBA TV — so you don't need a top-shelf package to get in the door. Lead with the cheapest entry point that carries the game you want.
- Games on ESPN or ESPN2 — the bulk of the national slate — stream on Sling Essentials, the most affordable plan carrying the full ESPN family at $19.99/mo. ESPN and ESPN2 also come with Sling Orange at $45.99/mo if you want the wider Orange lineup.
- Games on NBA TV — including the October 6 opener — need the Sports Extra add-on, which you can bolt onto any base plan for $11/mo. NBA TV isn't in a base plan, so this is the one to remember for the early-week tip-offs.
No long-term contract, no cable install, no guy named Greg showing up in a four-hour window to drill a hole in your wall. Add it, watch, drop it when the games stop. That's the whole pitch.
What channels stream NBA basketball during the preseason?
Short version: a small handful of games are nationally televised, and the rest air on each team's regional sports networks — which Sling does not carry. And while you can purchase NBA League Pass and NBA Team Pass through Sling, those products are for regular season games only, so you can not stream NBA preseason games with NBA League or Team Pass. Here are the games you can see:
ESPN and ESPN2 carry the meat of the national schedule — five games across the two networks, from the Kings-Lakers opener on October 8 through the Nuggets-Lakers finale on October 16. Both channels stream with Sling Essentials or Sling Orange.
NBA TV handles the earliest national windows — including a Tuesday, October 6 doubleheader — and streams when you add Sports Extra to any base plan.
Two honest caveats. First, the October 13 Cavaliers-Magic rematch airs on Peacock and NBCSN — neither is available with Sling, so that one's off the table. Second, the dozens of non-national games (your Hawks-Grizzlies, your Pistons-Suns) run on regional sports networks Sling doesn't carry. We'll never tell you a game is streamable when it isn't — that's the deal.
NBA Preseason schedule: Best week 2 games
https://youtu.be/FBFHiG97WKI?si=0U3YvKS99MXksI44
You don't watch the preseason for the final score. You watch for the first glimpse — the new jersey, the untested lineup, the rookie you'll be arguing about by December. These three games are the ones to circle.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors — Tuesday, October 13, 10 PM ET, NBA TV
Just a week after their first preseason meeting – a 124-98 Warriors blowout against a Lakers team resting virtually all of their key players – the Lake Show and Dubs collide again for a neutral site game in Las Vegas. It’s difficult to predict who lines up for both teams, but fans are hoping this could be a preview of one of the best divisional rivalries of the 2026 season. Watch it by adding Sports Extra to any base plan.
New Orleans Pelicans at Dallas Mavericks — Wednesday, October 14, 8 PM ET, NBA TV
Can reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg help lift the Mavericks to the playoffs in his second season? We won’t have the answer to that question for many months but we can start to get some early impressions in this one. With Kyrie Irving finally back from a torn ACL (he scored 17 points in 22 minutes in his return last week) and a new head coach fresh off a championship of his own (Dusty May, who joined from Michigan), the Mavericks are one of the more interesting teams entering the regular season. Plus, NBA fans can treat themselves to a perverse offseason ritual: Assessing the size of Pelicans big man Zion Williamson. Watch it by adding Sports Extra to any base plan.
Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers — Friday, October 16, 10:30 PM ET, ESPN
Nikola Jokic and Luke Doncic aren’t just two of the biggest European stars in the NBA; they’re downright Bromantic when they get into a room together. With this game the final preseason matchup before these two Western Conference rivals turn to business, expect a lot of cute clowning between these two. Watch it with Sling Essentials or Sling Orange.
Three games, two channels, one very reshuffled league. The preseason is the trailer; the regular season is the movie — but this year the trailer alone is worth the price of admission. Lead with the cheapest plan that carries your game, add Sports Extra for the NBA TV windows, and you're set from the October 6 tip through Opening Night.