150 kilometres to the eastern coast of Spain lies the idyllic Mediterranean island of Ibiza known for its baking hot summers and endless parties. The island has much more to offer than electronic dance music venues and blistering sun rays though.

The island is a World Heritage Site and has tonnes of historic, cultural and biological sights for intrepid travellers to explore. When you’re done uncovering the secrets of the island and have been to one too many raves, it’s only natural to want to sit back and relax and perhaps enjoy some creature comforts from home.

If you’re an American one of the best creature comforts to fight off that feeling of homesickness is basketball. Especially at this time of year when the NBA Playoffs odds are leaping to the forefront of every basketball fans mind.

How though, do you go about watching the latest NBA action in Ibiza? Read on to find out…

Sports Bars

Soccer is the number one sport in Europe but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of basketball fans on the continent. In fact, basketball in Spain is a pretty big deal with a number of Europe’s best teams coming from the country, so there’s plenty of appetite for basketball in general in Ibiza.

During the playoffs there are plenty of sports bars on the island that will be showing the big game on their large screen televisions. The only thing to remember is that the time difference is pretty significant, but on an island that never sleeps, that shouldn’t be too big a deal.

Here are three great sports bars to go and watch the big NBA game at:

Tamesis Sports Café: Situated on Calle Vara de Rey in Saint Antoni de Portmany is the Tamesis Sports Café which has a tonne of TV screens showing action from the best sports leagues on the planet. During the playoffs it’s guaranteed to be showing the basketball.

(Dubious promotional video aside, Tamesis is a great spot to watch the basketball.)

Flaherty’s Irish Bar: No matter where you are in the world there is always an Irish bar and Ibiza is no different. Flaherty’s shows the latest soccer, rugby and GAA matches but will also have the big NBA games on and especially if the Celtics are playing!

Eclipse: If you want no-nonsense sports then Eclipse is the place for you. The food is okay, the service is okay, the ambience is okay but the sports is always on and the beer is relatively cheap too, oh and it opens late!

TV

If you want to watch the basketball from the comfort of your own home or hotel, then your best bet is watching on TV. Whilst you won’t be able to tune into American channels you will be able to watch the action on Spanish TV.

Movistar Plus has had the rights to the NBA for years and signed a long-term extension with the league back in 2021. The company doesn’t just specialise in basketball though, soccer and more mainstream European sports are their main output but they do also cover the NBA.

During the regular season only selected games will be picked for broadcast, but there are highlights packages where you can catch up with all the latest games. During the playoffs Movistar broadcast all of the action live.

(Real Madrid are the main draw in Spanish basketball but you’ll still get NBA highlights on Spanish sports channels.)

Online

There are ways to watch live sports online that we can’t talk about, but chances are you already know about them. Some involve the use of a VPN to change your online country of origin back to the States and others involve scrolling through X to find a stream laden with commercials for dubious looking products.

We don’t condone any of those illegal ways of watching the big game, so if you’re planning on using your phone or iPad to keep up to date with the latest NBA action we actually recommend just using YouTube.

If you’re in Ibiza you’re likely going to be asleep during the big game, so instead when you wake up simply open up YouTube on your phone and check out the highlights. The site carries short 5 minute highlight packages as well as much longer and more in-depth videos.

Then once you’ve caught up with the action do as you usually would at home, listen to a million podcasts and read a tonne of articles about the game. We guarantee you won’t feel like you’ve missed out at all.