Do the 2018 NBA Finals have an anti-climactic air to them? Depending on who your favorite teams are, yes. That doesn’t mean you should miss them. Watch the 2018 NBA Finals on Xbox One and at least you will have something to talk about at work the next day.
Unfortunately, you can’t use all the services and tricks I showed you in How to Watch the NBA Games on Xbox One to watch the 2018 NBA Finals. That being said, there are other ways to get this year’s dose of the Cavaliers vs Warriors rivalry.
Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals begins on Thursday, May 31st at 9 PM Eastern Standard Time, so let’s get started. Lebron and Steph wait for no man.
Some of the streaming services you’ve depended on to watch regular season games and the playoffs won’t help you during the NBA Finals. Deals that the NBA has in place and the state of streaming services in general mean you need to take a different approach.
Watch on ABC
If you have a cable or satellite receiver connected to your Xbox One, the best way to watch the 2018 NBA Finals on Xbox One is to open the OneGuide app. Look for ABC, it’s the official broadcaster of the finals.
The 2018 NBA Playoffs are the rare time Sling TV users come out ahead. For an extra $5 a month, Sling TV’s Broadcast extra add-on lets you watch your local ABC station live through Sling TV. Just make sure you’re in an area where Sling TV has a deal with your affiliate, Live ABC depends on your location.
Of course, this is on top of the $20 a month Sling TV already costs, so keep that in mind if you’re thinking about trying the service just for the finals. Also, don’t hesitate to take advantage of their free trial. Read my Sling TV review to get a full idea of how well the service works.
For the industrious among you, you can watch ABC and other broadcast channels on your Xbox One without signing up for a service. I use the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR for Xbox One to watch broadcast channels in the OneGuide.
Watching on YouTube
There’s a second way you can watch the NBA Playoffs, and it’s one you’re very familiar with: YouTube. The service is a named sponsor of this year’s finals, and that’s allowed YouTube to stream the series along with ABC.
Do yourself a favor and subscribe to the official 2018 NBA Finals YouTube Profile. Then, sign into the Xbox One’s YouTube app with the same Google Account and Passwords as the one you use on your phone or computer.
YouTube’s finals stream is in high-definition and completely free. The only thing you have to worry about is getting the live stream on your television, which you can do easily with the aforementioned YouTube app for Xbox.
Now, you’re ready to watch the 2018 NBA Finals on Xbox One.
