If you’ve ever wanted to sit courtside to catch the Los Angeles Lakers, Apple could be your (virtual) ticket in. Ahead of a season filled with streaming options, the tech giant will reportedly roll out an immersive viewing experience with one of the NBA’s premier franchises.
Lakers Fans Could Have New Way to Watch Thanks to Apple
Select Lakers Games Coming to Apple Vision Pro
According to The Verge, Apple will offer a “selection” of Lakers games through its spatial computer, Apple Vision Pro. The AR/VR headset already offers the ability to watch live games. However, Apple’s new venture will mark its first live immersive sports broadcasts on the platform. The company will use special versions of Blackmagic Design’s URSA Cine Immersive Live cameras, which will be placed courtside and under each basket.
“Vision Pro users will be able to feel the intensity of each game as if they were courtside, with perspectives that are impossible to capture in traditional broadcasts,” Apple wrote in a Thursday statement.
Spectrum Sportsnet, the Lakers’ main broadcast partner, will assist Apple in distributing these games. They “will be accessible to authenticated Spectrum SportsNet subscribers, as well as Spectrum Internet customers, via the Spectrum SportsNet app in the Lakers’ territory,” according to Spectrum’s press release.
“The game replay and highlights in Apple Immersive will also be available on demand via the Spectrum SportsNet app across the Spectrum footprint and on the NBA App for national and international fans,” the company added.
The exact Lakers games to be featured on Apple Vision Pro will be revealed “later this fall” and require visionOS 26 or later. As for the starting price for the revolutionary spatial computer? $3,500.
Not the NBA’s First VR Venture
Apple’s announcement is a bold continuation of the league’s efforts to tap into virtual reality. The NBA and Meta originally joined forces in 2020, with a recent extension offering a way to watch games in the “NBA Arena” through Meta Horizon Worlds. However, that partnership ended after this past season, leaving Apple Vision Pro with a prime opportunity to pick up where Meta Quest left off.
Where to Watch NBA Games Under New Media Rights Deal
As the NBA season kicks off on Oct. 21, here’s where you can find every nationally-televised and/or streamed game throughout 2025-26.
- Sunday: ABC, NBC/Peacock
- Monday: Peacock
- Tuesday: NBC/Peacock
- Wednesday: ESPN
- Thursday: Amazon Prime Video
- Friday: Amazon Prime Video, ESPN
- Saturday: Amazon Prime Video, ABC
The Lakers are in a four-way tie for the most nationally-televised games with 34, joining the Thunder, Warriors, and Knicks. So even if fans prefer to skip the virtual courtside experience, there will be ample opportunities to catch the Purple and Gold in their pursuit of championship excellence.
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