NBA, ESPN and Flashscore compared for the 2025-26 season: live scores, advanced stats and free highlights for the NBA and ACB, plus how to watch in Spain.
A buzzer-beater in Denver finishes at four in the morning Spanish time, and by lunchtime the same Liga Endesa weekend is tipping off in Madrid. Following basketball from a phone in Spain in 2026 means living across two competitions at once — the NBA's nightly spectacle and a world-class domestic ACB — and the apps divide by what they cover. The league's own app holds first-party data, a US network supplies the deepest English-language commentary, and a multi-sport scoreboard tracks everything else in silence. The 3 apps in this guide are the ones worth installing first, chosen for distinct jobs: the official NBA app for box scores and highlights, ESPN for analysis, Flashscore for real-time alerts across NBA and ACB, with DAZN noted where live rights sit.
The official NBA app is the authoritative source for scores, per-player stats and daily top plays; live games require League Pass.
The league's own app is where the record lives: real-time scores from every fixture, advanced per-player and per-team numbers, the daily best-plays reel and full game highlights on the free side, with League Pass unlocking all games live. The data depth — points, rebounds, assists, plus/minus — beats the generic score apps for a fan studying box scores, and official editorial covers the whole 2025-26 season first-hand. Two caveats for Spain. League Pass is a paid extra while DAZN already broadcasts the NBA locally, so the subscription can duplicate coverage, and US tip-off times mean live games land in the European early morning. Use it for stats and condensed games; lean on DAZN when you actually watch.
Pros
Official first-party data for every fixture
Player stats: points, rebounds, assists, plus/minus
ESPN is the strongest English-language NBA newsroom on a phone — features, analysis and free highlight clips, though no live games in Spain.
ESPN covers the NBA with the weight of the world's largest sports network: trade news, features, expert columns and advanced statistics share an app with the NFL, MLB, NHL, tennis, UFC and European football. Free highlight clips capture the best plays each night, and the international perspective suits fans following Wembanyama or Doncic through an American lens. Live basketball is the wall: ESPN+ does not stream in Spain, where NBA rights sit with DAZN, and the app's overall orientation remains American, with ACB coverage minimal. Its European football depth lags specialists such as SofaScore, but for NBA editorial quality among free apps it leads this guide.
Flashscore follows both NBA and ACB in real time with configurable alerts, free, inside a 30-plus-sport scoreboard.
Flashscore's basketball coverage spans the NBA and the Liga Endesa with the same engine used for its 30-plus sports: live scores, fast push notifications and basic statistics across every game of a crowded night. Its 4.7-star rating and 100-million-plus downloads reflect a single virtue — being fast and neutral, with no editorial noise — and it costs nothing with no account required. It is the app for tracking several games simultaneously, including an NBA fixture and an ACB match on the same day. Limits: no video whatsoever, the screen turns dense during the US slate, and statistical depth trails SofaScore and the official NBA app. For watching, DAZN holds ACB rights in Spain; for knowing, this is the lightweight option.
Pros
NBA and ACB results with fast custom alerts
Handles several simultaneous games cleanly
Free, account-free and ad-light across 30+ sports
Cons
No highlights or streaming of any kind
Dense interface during full slates
Stats shallower than SofaScore or the NBA app
Download price only. In-app purchases and subscriptions may cost extra.
Questions & answers
What is the best app to watch the NBA in Spain?
The official NBA app plus League Pass is the most complete way to watch games, but for most viewers in Spain DAZN already broadcasts the NBA, making a separate League Pass subscription hard to justify. If the goal is free, the ESPN app supplies highlights and analysis at no cost, and the official NBA app gives away condensed game recaps — neither shows full live games without paying.
Where can I watch the ACB on mobile?
The official ACB.COM app provides results, statistics and video from the Liga Endesa for following the domestic competition. For live games, DAZN holds the ACB rights in Spain, so actual broadcasts sit inside its subscription. Flashscore covers the same fixtures with faster alerts and fewer frills if you mainly need scores alongside an NBA night.
Which app has the best NBA statistics?
SofaScore and Flashscore both supply detailed numbers for every NBA game, from box scores to form, while the official NBA app holds the deepest first-party advanced statistics, some of them behind the League Pass subscription. For a casual check, any of the three suffices; for serious per-play analysis after a game, combine the official app's data with SofaScore's presentation.
How much does watching the NBA in Spain cost?
NBA League Pass is listed around €9.99 a month or €99.99 a season; the app's full-access tier is quoted elsewhere at about €180 a season, so prices differ by package and date — check the current offer in the App Store. DAZN, which broadcasts a large share of games, has its own monthly subscription price. The free route — highlights, news and score alerts through the NBA, ESPN and Flashscore apps — costs nothing at all.
More related apps
App library · United States App Store. Prices and availability reflect the last check.
