Getty Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans.
A pivotal season is set to kick off in New Orleans as Zion Williamson and the Pelicans look to make some noise in the Western Conference.
In 2021-22, most Pelicans games will be televised in local markets on Bally Sports New Orleans, while some games will be nationally televised on NBA TV (may be out of market only, but those will also be on Bally Sports New Orleans), TNT or ESPN.
But if you don’t have cable, here’s a guide on how you can watch a live stream of every Pelicans game live online in 2021-22, including options for both in-market and out-of-market viewers:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
If You’re in the Pelicans Market
DirecTV Stream
This is the only streaming service that includes Bally Sports New Orleans
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN and TNT are included in all of them, while Bally Sports New Orleans (live in local markets) and NBA TV are included in “Choice” and up.
You can sign up right here:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch every Pelicans game live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to unlimited hours).
If You’re Out of the Pelicans Market
Amazon Prime’s NBA League Pass Channel
Note: This is ultimately the same as regular NBA League Pass (more info on that below), but with this option you’ll be able to watch games on the Amazon app, which tends to be available on more devices than the NBA app
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch every out-of-market NBA game via Prime Channels. You can try both Amazon Prime and the NBA League Pass channel at no cost with a free trial:
NBA League Pass on Amazon Prime
Once you’re signed up for the Prime NBA League Pass channel, out-of-market viewers can watch Pelicans games live or on-demand on the Amazon Video app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via the Amazon website.
NBA League Pass
Again, this is mostly the same as the Amazon Prime option above, with the big difference being you’ll watch on NBA’s platforms rather than Amazon’s:
Once signed up for NBA League Pass, out-of-market viewers can watch Pelicans games live or on-demand on the NBA app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or 5, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, Android tablet or other compatible device.
You can also watch on your computer via the NBA website.
Pelicans Season Preview 2021-22
Since sending Anthony Davis to the Lakers, stability has been hard to come by for the Pelicans. New Orleans shook up its roster in the offseason and fired veteran head coach Stan Van Gundy after just one season. The Pelicans brought in 40-year-old ex-player Willie Green to fill the void.
“First of all, he’s a phenomenal human being,” Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon said of Green. “It’s important to him to understand what’s going on (in the lives of) the people he’s surrounded with and he has a lot of empathy. A lot of emotional intelligence goes into what he does, in terms of thinking about his staff, the players. He’s been in their shoes at different parts of his own career, whether it was being a rookie in his first contract, playing for a difficult coach, playing for a player’s coach. He’s seen everything in this league as a player.
“As an assistant coach, he’s been to four Finals and dealt with some really good teams and high-level, Hall of Fame players. So he’s seen everything. We felt he’d be able to relate to the players at any stage of their careers, but also how to handle and manage a team and individuals. We’re incredibly excited to have him, and I think he’s a great fit for all of those reasons.”
As far as Williamson — the top pick in the 2019 draft — the key will be his health. He averaged 27 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists last season, but will start this one on the shelf dealing with a foot injury.
“It’s everyone’s goal that Zion return to play as soon as safely possible,” Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said. “Obviously, two to 2½ weeks from now means he will not be on the floor for the first week of games. When he is able to return safely, we will do that.
“It’s also not terribly debilitating either,” Griffin added. “The idea again is to return as soon and safely as possible. I think the way the doctors are handling this gives a great deal of confidence that that’s going to be the case. We would love to not have to deal with it. But we’re really happy with the way it’s gone so far.”
Brandon Ingram is the other star the Pelicans are building around, having being named an All-Star for the first time last year.
“The energy is good,” Ingram said. “So that’s always good. We’ve got guys doing their work. Everybody is clapping for each other. It feels good to have the energy there. (Green is) just sitting there watching. If he needs to step in, he’ll step in. But he’s just observing.”
The Pelicans have odds of +10,000 to win the title and have a win total of 39.5 games.