NBA League Pass blackout: who is dark and where VPNs fit

Your local team and every national game

In the US, NBA League Pass blacks out two groups of games: those of your local team or teams, and every game on national TV. The local ones belong to your regional sports network; the national ones to ESPN, ABC, NBC, Peacock or Amazon Prime Video. The audio of a blacked-out game stays available live, so you can at least listen while you find the channel. The national TV schedule is published ahead of time, so the dark nights are no surprise.

When the replay unlocks

• A game on your regional network: on demand three days after it ends.
• A national game: on demand at 6:00 am ET the next day.
• In Canada, national games come back roughly three hours after they end.

Games League Pass does not show live in the US at all

• The Emirates NBA Cup semifinals and final.
• All-Star Weekend.
• The playoffs, which air on TV in local markets.

How League Pass decides where you are

Blackouts follow your current location, which League Pass reads from your IP address or, if you allow it, location services. A zip code then decides which teams your local broadcaster covers. That works in your favor on the road: a Celtics fan in a Denver hotel is outside the Celtics' local area, so their games play live unless they are on national TV, while Nuggets games go dark instead.

A season plan for a local fan

• Get your regional network, through cable, a streaming bundle or its own app, for live local games.
• Keep the national schedule handy: ESPN, ABC, NBC, Peacock and Prime Video carry those games.
• Use League Pass for every team that is not local to you.
• Lean on the replay clocks: national games the next morning, local ones after three days.
• Keep the live audio for nights when you are away from a screen.

Checking before you buy

1. 1

   Open the League Pass purchase page.

2. 2

   Search the zip code where you will watch most games.

3. 3

   Note which teams are local there; those are the ones you will see as replays.

4. 4

   Check whether your favorite team plays many national games this season.

Outside the US and Canada

The NBA says every game is available live on League Pass in every country except the US and Canada. That applies to where you actually are. We do not suggest using a VPN to change what League Pass sees, and Softech VPN is not sold for it; abroad, a key is for protecting the hotel or airport connection.

The same logic works in reverse for Canadians and Americans visiting each other: each country has its own blackout list, and the one that applies is the one where you are sitting.

Softech VPN prepared this summary with AI assistance from the NBA's help article listed below, last updated by the NBA in July 2026.

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