How to Live Stream the NBA Draft: How to Watch It Online Now
Here's how to stream the NBA Draft online, including start times, channels and VPN options.
The 2019 NBA Draft is now underway, and it will set the stage for the rest of the 2019-2020 NBA season. The New Orleans Pelicans, as expected, have selected Zion Williamson as the No. 1 pick. But there's plenty of drama left.
If you want to see everything that happens, you'll want to tune in either from the comfort of your TV or on the streaming service of your choice. Thankfully, with help from ESPN, you should have plenty of places to find the draft anywhere you are.
Read on to find out how to stream the 2019 NBA Draft:
Where can I watch the 2019 NBA Draft?
The 2019 NBA draft tips off from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York tonight (June 20). The first pick will be announced at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Teams will then be on the clock and you have the opportunity to watch each pick. Here's a rundown of the first round, so you can see when your favorite team will be picking:
1. New Orleans
2. Memphis
3. New York
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Cleveland
6. Phoenix
7. Chicago
8. Atlanta
9. Washington
10. Atlanta
11. Minnesota
12. Charlotte
13. Miami
14. Boston
15. Detroit
16. Orlando
17. Brooklyn
18. Indiana
19. San Antonio
20. Boston
21. Oklahoma City
22. Boston
23. Utah
24. Philadelphia
25. Portland
26. Cleveland
27. Brooklyn
28. Golden State
29. San Antonio
30. Milwaukee
How do I use a VPN to watch the NBA Draft?
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If you're traveling outside the country during the NBA draft, you'll still be able to watch it. A virtual private network, or VPN, can help you connect to your desired streaming service through a U.S. server and watch the draft as if you were at home.
We've evaluated many of the best VPN services, and our top pick is ExpressVPN. It meets the VPN needs of the vast majority of users, offering outstanding compatibility with most devices and impressive connection speeds. It's also affordable at $12.95 per month. (Signing up for longer periods of six months or a year reduces the cost even more.)
Here are three VPN options worth considering, should you need them during the 2019 NBA draft.
ExpressVPN: Our favorite VPN service, ExpressVPN costs as little as $6.77 per month if you sign up for a one-year contract, and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee.
NordVPN: Cheap and secure, NordVPN is just $2.99/month for a three-year contract, and makes it easy to use streaming services. A connection wizard makes it a breeze to get started, and you can expect good security with 2048-bit encryption.
IPVanish: Costing $6.49 per month for a one-year contract, IPVanish supports plenty of different platforms and offers speedy customer support if you run into problems. Unfortunately, there's no free trial.
How can I stream the NBA draft with a cable or satellite subscription?
The draft will air on ESPN, so if you have ESPN your dial, simply go there and you'll be all set. You can also listen to the draft live on the radio on ESPN Radio, if you can't get near a screen.
Of course, ESPN is one of the most connected networks in the industry, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding a place to watch the draft. You can boot up ESPN.com and watch the draft in your browser. And if you'd prefer to watch it on your phone, just download the ESPN app and you'll be good to go. ESPN also has plenty of apps available on streaming boxes, so you can watch its content on the Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, and so many others.
How can I stream the NBA Draft without a cable or satellite subscription?
One of the great things about ESPN is that it's readily available in countless streaming services. So, you shouldn't have much trouble finding the service that streams ESPN.
Here are your options.
DirecTV Now: DirecTV Now is a handy streaming service that includes ESPN in its entry-level $50 tier.
Hulu + Live TV: Hulu's Live TV package will set you back $45 per month for 60 channels, including ESPN. Best of all, you can record up to 50 hours of programming to Hulu's cloud DVR.
Playstation Vue: With a $45-a-month PlayStation Vue subscription, you can stream ESPN and the NBA draft through the service's Access tier, which is the entry-level package from PlayStation.
SlingTV: Sling doesn't include local channels, but that's not a concern if you're interested in the NBA draft. Its Blue tier includes ESPN, which is all you'll need to watch the draft. A current promotion is knocking 40% off the normal $25 monthly rate, so you'd just pay $15 for SlingTV.
YouTube TV: The $50-a-month YouTube TV has more than 70 channels that make it easy to watch the programming you want, including ESPN. YouTube TV also features unlimited cloud DVR storage, so you can watch the tournament at a later date.
Don Reisinger is CEO and founder of D2 Tech Agency. A communications strategist, consultant, and copywriter, Don has also written for many leading technology and business publications including CNET, Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, Forbes, Computerworld, Digital Trends, TechCrunch and Slashgear. He has also written for Tom's Guide for many years, contributing hundreds of articles on everything from phones to games to streaming and smart home.