NBA All Star Game 2021 live stream: Start time and how to watch online

NBA All-Star Game live stream
(Image credit: Meg Oliphant and Sarah Stier / Getty)
NBA All-Star Game start time, channel

The 2021 NBA All-Star Game begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, on Sunday, March 7. It will be broadcast on TNT.
The skills challenges start earlier at 6:30 p.m. ET.

The 2021 NBA All-Star Game live stream is on, and it features the league’s best going head-to-head for bragging rights and the delight of their fans. LeBron James and Kevin Durant captain the All-Star squads for this NBA Live Stream.

After changing locations, player pushback and COVID protocols being examined, the NBA will hold its 70th All-Star Game Sunday night at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. Wednesday night the league held its All-Star Draft, where four-time Captain James and first-time captain Durant made selections from a pool of All-Stars voted in by fans, coaches, fellow players and media members.

Team James will be comprised of starters; James (LAL), Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), Stephen Curry (GS), Luka Doncic (DAL) and Nikola Jokic (DEN) with Damian Lillard (POR), Ben Simmons (PHI), Chris Paul (PHX), Jaylen Brown (BOS), Paul George (LAC), Domantas Sabonis (IND) and Rudy Gobert (UTA) as reserves. LeBron James is a perfect 4-0 as he has been a captain in each of the format’s previous 4 years.

Kyrie Irving (BRK), Joel Embiid (PHI), Kawhi Leonard (LAC), Bradley Beal (WAS) and Jayson Tatum (BOS) will start for Team Durant while James Harden (BRK), Devin Booker (PHX), Zion Williamson (NO), Zach LaVine (CHI), Julius Randle (NYK), Nikola Vucevic (ORL), Donovan Mitchell (UTA) will come off the bench. Durant will not be playing in the game due to a hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since February 13th. 

Skills challenge, 3-point and dunk contest start times

This year’s All-Star Night features some new twists. Due to COVID the NBA is packing “All-Star Weekend” into one night. The Skills Challenge and Three-Point Contest contest will both take place Sunday night as well beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET on TNT, while the Dunk Contest will be held at halftime of the All-Star game. 

There will be no Rising Stars game this year.

How to watch the NBA All-Star Game 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 the NBA All-Star Game live streams on TV or online, 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 <a href="https://go.expressvpn.com/c/4550836/1330033/16063?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.expressvpn.com%2Foffer%2Ftomsguide%3Foffer%3D3monthsfree%26a_fid%3D744" data-link-merchant="expressvpn.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">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. There's a 30-day money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied.

NBA All-Star Game live streams in the US

In the U.S. the 2021 NBA All-Star Game airs on TNT, tipping off at 8:00 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 (we love FuboTV for a lot of sports, but it doesn't have TNT). ESPN and TNT are both included in the Sling Orange package, which costs $30.

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:

<a href="https://sling-tv.pxf.io/c/221109/1132376/14334?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sling.com%2F" data-link-merchant="sling.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">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.

NBA All-Star Game live streams in the UK

British basketball fans will have to stay up very late to catch the NBA All-Star Game live stream tips off at 1:00 a.m. BST. The game will air on  Sky Sports, and those without Sky Sports can pick it up from Now TV, with prices starting at £9.99.

NBA All-Star Game live streams in Canada

Hoops fans in Canada can watch the 2021 NBA All-Star Game on SportsNet, which can be added to your package if you don't have it already. The game is on SportsNet and SN1. Due to contractual obligations the All-Star Game is not on NBA League Pass. 

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.