- The Miami Heat face the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals.
- Game 1 is on Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 8:30 PM (ET).
- The NBA Finals will be broadcast on ABC and simulcast on ESPN3.
The cheapest way to stream the the 2023 NBA Finals is with Sling TV. If you’re outside the United States during the games, you’ll need a VPN to connect to the U.S. and unblock Sling TV. Here’s how:
Looking for other ways to watch? We’ll take you along for a deep dive in our full streaming guide. Just read on below.
After sweeping LeBron James and the Lakers, the Denver Nuggets are headed to their first NBA Finals ever — if you don’t count their 1976 appearance back when the league was still called the ABA.
While the Nuggets clinched the Western Conference with relative ease, the Miami Heat found themselves in a winner-take-all situation. After three back-to-back playoff losses, the Heat finally dismantled the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Championship Monday night.
Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals is on Thursday, June 1, at 8:30 PM (ET). While the entirety of the Finals will be broadcast on ABC, you can also catch a live simulcast on Sling TV with ESPN 3.
We’ll show you how to stream every minute of the 2023 NBA Finals from anywhere around the world.
How to the Watch the 2023 NBA Finals Online from Anywhere
You can watch the 2023 NBA Finals from anywhere using Sling TV and a reliable VPN such as NordVPN. You get $10 off for your first-month subscription, and with a VPN, you can easily watch the Finals without any regional restrictions.
Sling TV is a cost-effective alternative. You can get their Sling Orange Package for $40 per month ($30 for the first month as they’re currently running a promotion) to watch the NBA Finals. While they don’t have ABC, they do have ESPN3, which offers a simulcast of the NBA Playoffs and Finals.
If you’re in the United States, you can just sign-up and start streaming right away from your local Wi-Fi connection. If you’re traveling or working abroad, though, you’ll find Sling TV is geo-restricted. You won’t be able to use it in most other countries.
But there’s an easy fix for this issue. By using a VPN, you can connect to a network of servers in the U.S. and access geo-restricted content from any country you’d like. We’ll show you how below.
Step-by-step guide: Watch the 2023 NBA Finals from anywhere with a VPN
- Get a VPN subscription. We recommend NordVPN for streaming the NBA Finals. We’ve tested this provider extensively, and trust their American servers to serve up our live HD sports content, no matter where we are in the world. We’ve used NordVPN to access American streaming platforms from India, Southeast Asia, and the Netherlands and can report a seamless experience.
- Install the VPN on your favorite streaming device. Take your pick of the apps.
- Open the app and log in with the credentials you used when registering.
- Connect to any server in the United States.
- Head over to Sling TV and create an account if you don’t have one already. Your payment method will need to be U.S.-based.
- Hunt down ESPN3 for live coverage of the 2023 NBA Finals!
NBA Finals 2023: Other Ways to Watch
If Sling TV isn’t your bag, there are plenty of other ways to watch the NBA Finals in 2023. You’ll just need a streaming platform that carries ABC. Here are a few providers that will have coverage. Since many of these streamers offer free trials, you can actually watch the NBA Finals for free.
| Service | Channels | Price | Free trial? | Do I need a VPN to watch it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube TV | 100+ channels, including ABC | $54.99 per month (first three months) | 14-day free trial | Yes, if you’re not in the US. |
| FuboTV | 150+ channels, including ABC | $69.99–$99.99 per month | Seven-day free trial | Yes, if you’re not in the US, Canada, or Spain. |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 75+ live TV channels, including ABC | $69.99 per month – $154.99 per month | Five-day free trial | Yes, if you’re not in the US. |
| Hulu + Live TV | 75+ channels, including ABC | $69.99 per month (first three months) | No | Yes, if you’re not in the US. |
| Sling TV | 150+ channels, including ESPN3 | $40-$50 per month | No | Yes, if you’re not in the US. |
How to Watch the 2023 NBA Finals for Free
Looking to watch the NBA finals for free? There are actually a few options you can take. We’ve listed them below:
- Free trials: You could use YouTube TV’s extensive two-week long trial and watch the NBA Finals for free, or take advantage of FuboTV’s seven-day trial to catch the bulk of the basketball action. If you haven’t signed up for these platforms before, it’s an excellent way to watch for free.
- Free streaming sites: While they operate in a murky legal area, there are plenty of free NBA streaming sites dedicated to the game. The problem here, though, is navigating the invasive pop-up advertising and navigating potentially unsecured or malicious domains. Many free live streams are hosted by third-party sites, and their sources can’t be verified or authenticated. Nevertheless, streamers have found their way to these sites time and time again.
- NBA League Pass: The NBA usually offers a free trial with its own streaming service, NBA League Pass. So this is yet another way to watch the Finals for free. Not only can you use their free trial, but we’ve compiled a complete guide on saving big money on League Pass. In short, you can use a VPN to connect to other countries and get much cheaper prices available in different markets like Argentina, Vietnam, and the Phillipines.
How to Watch the 2023 NBA Finals in the U.K.
Sky Sports is where you’ll find all the NBA coverage in the U.K. If you don’t have cable TV with Sky Sports channels, there’s a streaming service called NOW TV that offers the Sky Sports Pass.
Like other no-contract streamers, you can subscribe to a monthly membership or even a 24-hour basis. It’ll you get all 11 Sky Sports channels online for however long you opt for.
- NOW Sports Month Membership: £34.99 ($44)
- NOW Sports Day Membership: £11.98 ($15)
If you’re outside the U.K. during the Finals, you can also use NordVPN to get a U.K. IP address and hook up to your account, no matter where you are.
How to Watch to watch NBA Games in Australia
Kayo Sports and Foxtel are the two biggest sports providers in the Land Down Under. Kayo Sports has the entire NBA season, from the first game’s tip-off right down to the NBA Playoffs and Finals.
Likewise, Foxtel offers extensive NBA coverage through its various sports packages as well. Foxtel will get you to ESPN, which has most NBA coverage in Australia. You can go direct to the source and use your Foxtel credentials to log in to the ESPN app.
Here’s a rundown of plans:
- Kayo Sports: Basic $25 AUD per month ($17 USD), Premium $35 AUD per month ($23 USD)
- Foxtel: $25 AUD per month plus $29 AUD ($19 USD) Foxtel NOW Sports Pack
Kayo Sports isn’t very VPN-friendly (we’ve had our struggles connecting while using NordVPN, Surfshark and ExpressVPN, so Foxtel would be our recommendation if you’re outside the country.
How to Watch the 2023 NBA Finals in India
In India, you can watch the Finals with Jio TV’s free media player or a Voot Select subscription. Jio’s free, but with Voot you can get HD NBA streams for ₹499 a year (around $6 USD) for two simultaneous screens, or get four screens for ₹599 ($7 USD) a year.
These prices certainly can’t be beaten, but unfortunately, you need an Indian mobile number and a local form of payment to sign up.
However, if you can set up an account, Voot Select and Jio TV work well with a VPN outside India. Major changes to Indian data privacy laws now require companies to collect and store user data for up to five years. This has led to many leading no-log VPNs — NordVPN included — pulling their servers from the country.
Surfshark VPN, however, offers virtual Indian servers (via the U.K. or Singapore) that can connect you to Indian content while abroad.
NBA Finals 2023 Schedule
Here’s a rundown of the schedule of the upcoming 2023 NBA Playoffs.
| Game | Matchup | Date | Time (ET) | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Heat at Nuggets | Thursday, June 1, 2023 | 8:30 PM | ABC/ESPN3 |
| Game 2 | Heat at Nuggets | Sunday, June 4, 2023 | 8:00 PM | ABC/ESPN3 |
| Game 3 | Nuggets at Heat | Wednesday, June 7, 2023 | 8:30 PM | ABC/ESPN3 |
| Game 4 | Nuggets at Heat | Friday, June 9, 2023 | 8:30 PM | ABC/ESPN3 |
| Game 5* | Heat at Nuggets | Monday, June 12, 2023 | 8:30 PM | ABC/ESPN3 |
| Game 6* | Nuggets at Heat | Thursday, June 15, 2023 | 8:30 PM | ABC/ESPN3 |
| Game 7* | Heat at Nuggets | Sunday, June 18, 2023 | 8:00 PM | ABC/ESPN3 |
Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets: What to Expect
The Miami Heat had a whirlwind of an Eastern Conference showdown. They started the playoff series 3-0 and looked to sweep the Boston Celtics from the get-go, but the Celtics staged a come-from-behind campaign for the books.
On Saturday, after bringing the series 3-2, Derrick White tipped in the buzzer-beating basket with a jaw-dropping 0.1 seconds left on the clock to force a Game 7. While Boston was able to inch their way toward the Finals, the luck of the Irish would eventually run out.
With 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a handful of steals, Jimmy Butler led the Heat to their 103-84 series-clinching blowout Monday night. Caleb Martin also showed out with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
The task ahead will be no easy feat. The Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic await the Heat in the Finals. Though the Nuggets are making their first Finals appearance — if you’re not counting 1976’s ABA Finals — they made easy work of LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers with a 4-0 playoff sweep.
While the Miami Heat are no strangers to the NBA Finals — they’ve made seven appearances, including 2020 — it’s worth noting that the Nuggets won both regular season matchups this year, one at home and one on the road.
With the Nuggets’ early finish, they’ve been waiting and practising for over a week. We’ll have to wait and see if that rest will work to their advantage or will have caused a little rust to gather on the competitive edge.
