As the NBA diversifies, adding players from the top leagues of Europe, fans are tuning in to catch European superstars dominate before they make that transition to the NBA. Basketball Bundesliga (also known as easyCredit BBL), the top-tier pro basketball league in Germany, is one of the best on the continent to do so.
Fans looking to check out an exciting European style of play and see where NBA stars like Dirk Nowitzki and Dennis Schröder got their start need look no further than Basketball Bundesliga.
Where to stream Basketball Bundesliga online
Bundesliga’s regular season ends on May 1st, but don’t fret because that’s when the three round playoffs begins and the competition really ramps up, with the winners qualifying for the 2018-2019 EuroLeague.
In Germany, Deutsche Telekom recently signed a deal to secure the rights to broadcast all Basketball Bundesliga games through the 2022-2023 season. Fans in the country can watch every game live on television, or through the streaming service Telekom Sport, including the BBL Cup playoff tournament.
Additionally, one game a week will continue to be aired on Sport1 TV, another German television channel.
Internationally, Basketball Bundesliga is most easily found on Laola1.tv, an Austria-based sports news and streaming portal.
The website has different content available depending on whether you visit it from the U.S., Germany, or Austria, yet ALL Bundesliga games stream live or can be accessed on demand through the international portal, available in the US (yet locked in other countries).
Laola offers a premium service for 4.99 euros a month with features like HD streaming, a rewind function and no ads, however the selection of events is the same for both premium and regular users of the site.
Why use a VPN to stream Basketball Bundesliga
German basketball fanatics should have no problem accessing live streams of Basketball Bundesliga for a low monthly price, or in the case of Laola.tv–for free–in the league’s home country, Austria and the United States, yet those in other countries won’t necessarily be so lucky.
If you are in a country where laola.tv is not available due to regional restrictions (I recommend using laola.tv to stream Bundesliga games rather than attempting to sign up for Telekom Sport, since if you visiting this page, it is likely you are an English speaker), your best bet is to sign up for a VPN (virtual private network) service that will enable you to route your internet connection through a server in the U.S., Austria, or Germany, and acquire a local internet connection that will bypass regional lockouts, allowing you to access all of the live streams available to people in a given country.
In addition to allowing you to anchor your internet connection to servers all around the world in order to take advantage of streaming services only available in those countries, a VPN also encrypts your data, ensuring that:
- You can safely connect to public WiFI networks, without the risk of cyber criminals hacking into your computer and accessing your private data.
- You are able to bypass government censorship if you live in a country like China or Indonesia that blocks a slew of websites.
- Your internet service provider can not spy on your activity or limit your bandwidth when you are streaming or gaming.
How to use a VPN to stream Basketball Bundesliga live
- Obtain a membership to a VPN provider with a focus on the high speeds necessary for streaming.
- Install the VPN client on your computer, or the mobile device you prefer to stream on.
- Connect to a server in the U.S., Germany, or Austria. A decent VPN will have servers in all three.
- Clear your browser’s cookies and browsing history.
- Head over to the laola.tv Basketball Bundesliga channel and enjoy live streams of the upcoming playoff series, free of charge.
Best VPNs to stream Basketball Bundesliga from anywhere
There are so many VPNs available these days that it can be hard to choose the one that’s right for your purposes. These three are reliable, come with an excellent reputation, and are great for streaming sports.
ExpressVPN
Our top pick!
- Always evades internet control in the PRC
- Keeps ahead of the Netflix VPN detection algorithm
- Benchmark tests show excellent speed
NordVPN
- More US city locations than its rivals
- Includes malware protection
- No-logs policy
StrongVPN
- 7-day money-back guarantee
- Live chat support
- Good speeds