Kings vs Lakers live stream: Can you watch for free?

It’s a battle of NorCal vs. SoCal tonight, as LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers host De’Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings. It’s the third time these teams have met this season, with Sacramento taking each of the first two matchups.

The game starts tips off shortly, at 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT), and will be televised locally on Spectrum SportsNet (Lakers markets) and NBC Sports California (Kings markets). It won’t be televised anywhere else, but there are some ways to watch a live stream of the game whether you’re in or out of market.

Is There a Free Kings vs Lakers Live Stream?

Phil Nickinson / Tech Reader

There are a lot of different ways you can watch a free live stream of the game, so we’ll split up the options depending on where you live:

If you live in the Lakers market, you can watch the game on DirecTV Stream, which is the only streaming service that has Spectrum Sportsnet. Make sure you select the “Choice” channel package or higher when starting your five-day free trial.

If you live in the Kings market, Fubo (“Pro” plan), YouTube TV (“Base Plan”) and DirecTV Stream (“Choice” plan or higher) all include NBC Sports California (in local markets) and all come with a free trial. The Fubo free trial lasts seven days, while the others are five days each.

If you live outside of those markets, you’ll need NBA League Pass, which has every out-of-market, non-nationally-televised game. There are a lot of ways you can get League Pass for free. It can be included as an add-on to your YouTube TV or DirecTV Stream free trial, or you can get it through the NBA website itself or Amazon Prime Channels. Both of those options include seven-day free trials, as well.

How to Watch the Kings vs Lakers Live Stream from Abroad

NordVPN app listing on Apple TV. — Phil Nickinson / Tech Reader

If you live in the United States but are traveling during the time of the game, you can try a virtual private network (VPN) service to watch. The aforementioned streaming services are US-only, but a VPN hides your IP address and connects you to a server somewhere in the US, thus allowing you to use those streaming services as if you were still physically located at home.

NordVPN tops our list of the best VPN services. It’s reliable and fast, plus it has thousands of servers across the world and nearly 2,000 in the US alone, meaning not only can you use it to watch the game from abroad, but you can also connect to a server in a different state to potentially get around local blackouts.