Team USA vs Australia men's basketball live stream: Olympics channels, start time and how to watch online

Team USA vs Australia live stream Men's Basketball
(Image credit: Bradley Kanaris / Getty)

The Team USA vs Australia live stream is the former's chance for the gold. Yes, after a rocky start, the American side won its last three in a row, and looks completely different from the team that dropped a game to the Aussies. Yes, back in the preliminaries, USA lost this match. My how times have changed.

Team USA vs Australia channel, start time

When: Team USA vs. Australia airs at 12:15 a.m. ET on August 5 with rebroadcasts at 6 and 11 p.m. ET.
• U.S. — Watch live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com, or on tape-delay on USA and NBCSN via Sling or Fubo.TV
• U.K. — Watch on Discovery Plus
• Watch anywhere — Try ExpressVPN 100% risk free

That said, nobody is ready to count out Australia. Especially with the likes of Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills and Matisse Thybulle. They'd normally have Aron Baynes, but he fell to a neck injury. 

Team USA is not slouching, though, as the three-point shooting from the American side has been a beast, enabling their 95-81 win over Spain. The only trouble the US faced early came from when Ricky Rubio started with 13 points in the first quarter and then an 11-0 run built a 40-29 lead for Spain.

Then, Kevin Durant did what he does best: score. He had the team-high of 31 points, going 10 out of 17 for field goals, four for seven on threes and a perfect five out of five at the line. Jayson Tatum also assisted on threes, hitting three out of five.

If Australia wants to repeat its preliminary success, they'll be looking for Matisse Thybulle to limit Durant's offense. While they're not favored to win this Team USA basketball live stream from the Tokyo Olympics, they should have confidence after a huge 97-59 win over Argentina.

Oh, and you're also going to need to pay for Peacock if you want to watch live.

How to watch Team USA vs Australia live streams from anywhere in the world

The Olympics is a global event and can be viewed in almost every country on Earth. However, if you're not in your home country and can't watch the Team USA vs Australia live streams with your usual services — or you want to watch in your native language — you're not out of luck. 

With a virtual private network, or VPN, you can appear to be surfing the web from your home town (or somewhere that blackouts won't hit), and access the same streaming services you already paid for. They're totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. 

Not sure which VPN is right for you? We've tested many different services and our pick for the best VPN overall is ExpressVPN. It offers superb speeds and excellent customer service. But you've got other VPN options as well.

ExpressVPN

We think speed, security and simplicity make ExpressVPN second to none. During our tests, we saw fast connection times, and we're impressed by the service's ability to access more than 3,000 services spread out across 160 locations in 94 countries. Plus, a 30-day money-back guarantee should assuage concerns.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to your website or streaming service of choice and tune in.

How to watch Team USA vs Australia live streams in the US

Team USA vs Australia live streams — US flag

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Unless you have a cable account and can watch on NBCOlympics.com, you'll need NBC's streaming service Peacock to see the Team USA vs Australia live streams at 12:15 a.m. ET / 9:15 p.m. PT. 

For the tape-delayed stream at 6 p.m. ET, you'll want USA while NBCSN has the 11 p.m. rebroadcast. Both are included in the $35 per month Sling TV Blue package. The Sports Extra package ($11 per month extra) gets you the Olympic channel. Sling is one of the best streaming services alongside our other recommendation for Olympics viewing: Fubo TV, which has 100-plus channels (many more than Sling), including all of the above networks. 

Peacock
A must for live Team USA men's games

In addition to the Olympics live streams, Peacock also has huge library of licensed content drawn from various brands. That includes shows like 30 Rock, The Voice, Battlestar Galactica, Law & Order: SVU and This Is Us.

Sling TV:
Cheaper Live TV

Sling TV: You can get NBCSN in the Sling Blue package, which is $35/month. The 30-plus channels in the lineup include AMC, CNN, Food Network, AMC, Comedy Central, HGTV and many more. Right now, Sling is offering $10 off the first month for new subscribers.

Fubo TV:7-day free trial

Fubo TV: If you love sports, you probably want to check out Fubo TV. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front. Fubo's dozens of channels include local networks like ABC and NBC, as well as NBCSN.

How to watch Team USA vs Australia live streams in the UK

Team USA vs Australia live streams - British flag

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The game will most likely be available on the new service Discovery Plus, and at around 5:40 p.m. BST. Discovery Plus has bought the rights to full coverage of the Tokyo Olympics, breaking the BBC's previous monopoly. This year, the BBC is limited to no more than two live events at one time, whereas every single sport and every single event is available on Discovery+ or via the Eurosport channel.

Discovery is currently offering a three-day free trial of the service, with full subscriptions available for £6.99/month or £29.99/year after that. Plus, the service is available to stream through a multitude of devices include Chromecast, Apple TV, Android TV and apps for iOS and Android.

Americans abroad could just use the service of their choice, provided they log in via a VPN such as ExpressVPN.

How to watch Team USA vs Australia live streams in Canada

Team USA vs Australia live streams in Canada

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The Olympics continue to confuse for those following along in Canada. Sportsnet's SN and SN1 channels list "Scheduled events include - Diving, Athletics & Basketball" for the midnight block, so those may be your best option. 

TSN may also have the game, as its schedule lists Olympic coverage from Midnight on, on TSN1, TSN2 and TSN3.

Again, Americans visiting their friends in the great white north could just use Peacock, provided they log in via a VPN such as ExpressVPN.

How to watch USA vs Australia live streams in Australia

How to watch USA vs Australia live streams - Australian flag

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Down Under, Aussies can watch the USA vs Australia for free on the network’s 7Plus streaming service — which has practically everything in the Olympics. Team USA vs Australia live streams should begin around 2:15 p.m. AEST. 

Currently out of the country? Use ExpressVPN to access your paid-for services.

Henry T. Casey
Managing Editor (Entertainment, Streaming)

Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.