Warriors vs Lakers live stream: How to watch the NBA Playoffs online

Lakers vs Warriors live stream NBA playoffs 2021
(Image credit: Harry How/Jonathan Ferrey/Getty)
Warriors vs Lakers start time, channel

The Warriors vs Lakers live stream begins today Wednesday, May 19th at 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT. It will be on ESPN.

The Warriors vs Lakers live stream is about to begin. Yes, this isn’t the typical LeBron vs Steph postseason matchup we’re used to, but at least we’ll get to see these two meet head-to-head in this NBA playoffs live stream.

Thanks to the NBA’s play-in tournament, the Warriors and Lakers get to face off at least once this postseason. The winner will take over the Western Conference’s 7th playoff seed and face the 2nd seeded Suns, while the loser will play the winner of Spurs vs Grizzlies for the 8th playoff seed and take on the top-seeded Jazz.   

The Lakers enter Wednesday night’s game as 5.5-point favorites. The over/under is 217.5 points.

The Lakers (42-30) will attempt to defend their championship after winning the franchises’ 17th Title in the NBA’s bubble last season, but this season has been a far cry from last year’s run. LeBron James and Anthony Davis have both dealt with nagging injuries this season missing a combined 63 games. James is dealing with a right ankle sprain, while Davis missed a stretch of 30 games with a calf strain.   

The fact that the Warriors (39-33) even made the postseason is amazing. Steph Curry’s crew was four games under .500 before playing the Bucks on April 6th then went 16-6 the rest of the way including a six-game winning streak to close out the season. In that span, Curry thrust himself into the MVP conversation. Even LeBron James sang Curry’s praises telling reporters, “I don’t know anything else if you’re looking for an MVP. If Steph is not on Golden State’s team, what are we looking at?” MVP Honors will likely go to Denver’s Nikola Jokic, but Curry has certainly made his case. He won this year’s scoring title with 32 points per game and averaged 37 ppg over the last two months of the season.  

How to avoid Warriors vs Lakers blackouts with a VPN

If you've had to leave your own "bubble" -- or you've been hit by a dreaded local blackout -- and you can't watch Warriors vs Lakers live streams on cable, 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. 

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. Here are our top picks.

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. 

Warriors vs Lakers live streams in the US

In the U.S. Warriors vs Lakers airs on ESPN, tipping off at 10 p.m. ET.

If you've already cut the cord and don't have a cable package, you'll be able to get this game on Sling TV and FuboTV. But you may want to go Sling, as while ESPN and TNT (the other big NBA channel) are both included in the Sling Orange package, which costs $35 — TNT isn't on Fubo.

Both are two of the picks on our best streaming services list, but Sling doesn't have ABC (though you can get it with one of the best TV antennas).

Sling TV:

Sling TV: You can get ESPN and TNT in the Sling Orange package. The 30-plus channels in the lineup include AMC, CNN, Food Network, AMC, Comedy Central, HGTV and many more.

Fubo.TV:

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. The channel lineup includes ESPN, as well as other top networks like Bravo, FX, MTV and USA. Plus, it's got NBA TV (in the $5.99 fubo Extra add-on), which will have other playoff games.

Warriors vs Lakers live streams in the UK

British basketball fans just need Sky Sports. The Warriors vs Lakers live stream is on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena — starting at 3 a.m. BST.

Warriors vs Lakers live streams in Canada

Hoops fans in Canada can watch Warriors vs Lakers on TSN, which can be added to your package if you don't have it already. The game is on TSN1.

NBA League Pass is also available in Canada.

Marc Farzetta

Marc is a contributing sportswriter at Tom’s Guide covering the NFL, NBA and MLB as well as various other leagues. He is a graduate of Temple University where he studied Broadcasting and Journalism. Marc’s previous stops include the Trenton Times and NBC Sports Philadelphia. He also worked on the production crew of NBC Sunday Night Football for 11 seasons. When not working, Marc is probably sipping his next espresso to get him ready for more work.

Read more
Los Angeles, CA - March 06: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers along with teammate Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers against the New York Knicks in the first half of a NBA basketball game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles ahead of Lakers vs Celtics, March 2025
Lakers vs Celtics live stream: How to watch NBA game online, TV channel, start time
MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 20: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dribbles the ball during the game against the Miami Heat on December 20, 2024 during the NBA 2024-25 season
NBA live stream 2024-25 — How to watch basketball online on Sling TV without cable
Damian Lillard #0 of the Milwaukee Bucks and Eastern Conference All-Stars dribbles the ball against Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors and Western Conference All-Stars in the third quarter during the 2024 NBA All-Star Game
How to watch NBA All-Star Game 2025 — live stream online from anywhere, schedule, rosters
 Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics celebrates ahead of the 2024 NBA Play-offs
Celtics vs Spurs live stream — How to watch NBA 2024-25 online without cable
Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks drives inside ahead of the Mavericks vs Celtics NBA game
Mavericks vs Celtics live stream — How to watch NBA 2024-25 online without cable today, team news
Vincent Trocheck #16 of Team United States shoots the puck during the third period of the 4 Nations Face-Off game between the United States and Canada
Canada vs United States live stream: How to watch NHL 4 Nations Face-Off final 2025 online, TV channel, start time, team news
Latest in Sports
COLUMBUS, OHIO - JANUARY 26: Amber Glenn skates in the Women's Free Skate during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Nationwide Arena on January 26, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
How to watch World Figure Skating Championships 2025: live streaming, schedule, what TV channel?
NFL Sunday Ticket logo for YouTube
NFL Sunday Ticket 2025 pricing revealed — and it's bad news
Dante Maddox Jr. #21 of the Xavier Musketeers and Arthur Kaluma #6 of the Texas Longhorns compete for the ball in March 2025
March Madness First Round live stream: How to watch 2025 NCAA basketball online, what TV channel is it on?
March Madness games on YouTube TV using multiview
This is how I've streamed March Madness for the past 2 years — and it's the only way to watch every second of all 67 games
A March Madness 2025 basketball on a chair at University of Dayton Arena
March Madness LIVE: watch and stream NCAA basketball, odds as First Four gets underway
Tre Johnson #20 of the Texas Longhorns drives to the basket in the second half against Jonas Aidoo #9 of the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena ahead of March Madness 2025 LIVE (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
How to watch First Four 2025: live stream March Madness preliminary round online tonight, what TV channel?
Latest in News
Bill Gates in 2019
Bill Gates just predicted the death of every job thanks to AI — except for these three
NYTimes Connections
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Wednesday, March 26 (#654)
Gemini screenshot image
Google unveils Gemini 2.5 — claims AI breakthrough with enhanced reasoning and multimodal power
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 design just teased in new cases leak — and the outer display is huge
Google Chrome
Chrome failed to install on Windows PCs, but Google has issued a fix — here's what happened
nyc spring day AI image
OpenAI just unveiled enhanced image generator within ChatGPT-4o — here's what you can do now