This year’s NBA Finals are about to begin. Just to quickly recap, it is the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks facing off, with the Celtics advancing to the finals for the first time since 2022 with a 12-2 post-season result. The Mavs, on the other hand, conquered the West and will be making their first Finals appearance since the 2010-11 season. And this will be their first time to face off on the court of the NBA Finals.
In the 23-24 season, the Celtics led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, won both head-to-head matchups between the two teams, which may give the Celtics the edge. The only thing standing in the way of these ace players is Luka Doncic, one of the biggest talents in NBA history, who has played remarkably well throughout the playoffs. The thrilling thing is that, in this final, both players will be in search of their first championship ring.
If you are reading this, we would assume that you are perhaps in Japan during the unmissable NBA Finals. But worry not. In this article, I would like to show you how to watch the NBA Finals while you are in Japan.
Is it possible to watch the NBA Finals with bookmakers?
Many sports fans can sometimes be passionate punters. If you bet on sports regularly, you probably know that some bookmakers offer live-streaming features.
In Japan, you can access many bookmakers, including global sites such as bet365 and 1xbet, as well as local sites specializing in the Japanese betting market. However, due to the licensing situation, we have to emphasize there is no guarantee that the NBA Finals will be streamed on bookmakers accessible in Japan.
Also, the fact that the NBA Finals are held at night time in the US, which falls in the morning through early afternoon in Japan time, makes this a non-preferred option. So what are other options?
Rakuten – NBA “LEAGUE PASS”
The most reliable and basic way to watch the NBA Finals from Japan is Rakuten. Rakuten is almost like the Japanese version of Amazon of Japan (although Amazon does exist in Japan as well) and offers a platform called Rakuten TV that allows its subscribers to watch a variety of sports like the NBA and European soccer leagues.
The LEAGUE PASS is a monthly subscription that allows users to watch all NBA games live or on-demand for 4,500 JPY per month. The price is at the highest end of the other available options, but it is worth signing up for, especially if you have lived in Japan for a long time.
WOWOW
WOWOW was Japan’s first SVOD channel and now offers exclusively many international sports, movies, stage shows, music programs, and anime, as well as original drama productions.
What is available here is live and on-demand coverage of all NBA Finals games. The price is much lower than Rakuten’s, at 2,530 JPY per month. If you are interested in watching only the Finals, this option is highly recommended.
ABEMA (ABEMA de WOWSPO)
ABEMA is an online TV channel. There are regular programs that are available for free and premium programs that are accessible to viewers on a subscription basis.
They became famous as an international sports channel when they won the exclusive rights for FIFA World Cup 2022. Currently, Abema is partnering with the aforementioned WOWOW, to offer some of the sports programming available on WOWOW, including the NBA Finals, where you can watch the Finals games for less than half the price.
Here we have provided some possible options for those who wish to watch the NBA Finals during their stay in Japan. We hope you enjoy your stay in Japan and wish you the best NBA viewing experience!
