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The world was shocked when one of its legends, Kobe Bryant, died recently. Nobody saw it coming and the situation is tragic. This has also affected the NBA as a whole - which is to be expected - but has also cut the rest of the world equally. Everyone from musicians to athletes to comedians to influencers have taken this week to soberly reflect and look to one another for healing since the loss of Kobe and his daughter, Gianna. However, in honor of Kobe Bryant, the NBA is not taking a break. Players and coaches are coming together to continue honoring him in a way that he would be sure to appreciate, by playing their hearts out on the court. Everyone is working through their mourning by playing the game they love. This is truly a beautiful thing.

The NBA has been petitioned to change its logo to honor Kobe. And although I think they will do so, for the most part, the legend of Kobe Bryant will never be forgotten. He will live on in every swished three-point shot from the outside as well as every crumpled-up paper shot into the wastebasket from the office chair.

The fact is that the NBA season is heating up. There are still plenty of exciting and cutthroat games left to be played. The NBA is one of those sports, too, where game changers occur on a daily basis.

Momentum is an important factor in basketball. A single win from an underdog team can carry them all the way to the championship. An injury can dethrone a league favorite. Regardless of what, the NBA is one of those leagues that you don't want to miss a single moment of. And thankfully, because we live in the digital age, we have the means to never miss an NBA moment again.

That is right. I am referring to the premium NBA streaming service, NBA TV. It is a must-have for any serious basketball fan, essentially court side season tickets to every NBA game right on your smartphone, computer, and smart TV. Never miss a single shot; never miss the moment when basketball's legends of tomorrow are born today.

History

The online network, NBA TV, was first established in March of 1999 in order to provide coverage of the NBA. The network was originally called NBA.com TV, but was shortened to simply NBA TV on February 11th of 2003. Originally, the network operated out of NBA studio facilities located in Secaucus, New Jersey. However, since its inception, the network has expanded greatly and now operates from a number of different locations around the world. This was a direct result of an agreement between Time Warner and the NBA. In 2003, NBA TV signed a multi-year contract with 3 out of 5 of America's largest cable service providers: Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, and Cablevision. This expanded NBA TV's reach exponentially, growing to become a part of over 45 million paid subscriber households' cable plans in the US alone; additionally, NBA TV was made available in 30 other countries around the globe. When Time Warner took the sports network CNN/SI off the air in 2002, many cable providers replaced that channel with NBA TV. This was due to an agreement between Time Warner and the NBA.

Since traditional cable television has come to a close, NBA TV has started to shift their focus mainly to their online streaming service which, arguably, is a better deal anyway. At the very least, you cannot argue with the fact that you get much more out of it, as NBA TV online offers access to every scheduled game, even those that are not otherwise aired on television. It is an exclusive all-access pass to the NBA. The perfect self-gift for an NBA fanatic.

Design

The NBA Live video search interface is pretty basic. You can search for games simply by using a video search interface like YouTube's. The game will expand to fit your screen and you can track scores from other games using a non-distracting crawler above the video stream. It would be great if NBA TV could include a classic picture in picture feature. For example, clicking on a game's score on the crawler could open the game as a PIP window, which you could also click on to switch to that game.

Content

As a NBA TV user, you have access to every game in the league. This means that you will have tons of exclusive content that most people will miss out on. You will also be able to enjoy full-game and customizable game replays; the ability to watch classic archived games; exclusive NBA television shows; and access to NBA TV on any device. NBA TV offers a virtual reality capability as an add-on service for a one-time fee of $49.99. This means that you can feel like you are courtside with your favorite team and players.

NBA TV is a great service that offers a lot of services and features. If you are not a big NBA fan, it might be able to convert you into one.

Mobile and Desktop Experience

The NBA TV app works on any device that you can access it. My favorite way to watch the games is on my smart TV, but there are also ways to watch them if you like when you're on the go. The app streams HD quality games, no matter where you are.

Pricing and Plans

The NBA TV service offers a variety of payment plans to choose from. From an all-access premium account to a single team pass, to just a streamlined way to access all of the normally aired NBA games, below is a list of all available plans and what they cost: NBA TV Premium, No Commercials: A subscription to NBA TV Premium allows viewers to watch every NBA game without commercials?. The cost is $124.99/year.

-Now available for purchase, NBA League Pass gives fans access to every game played by all NBA teams, with no commercials. NBA League Pass is now available for purchase at $99.99 per year. It gives fans access to every game played by all NBA teams, without any commercials.

The NBA Team Pass allows fans to watch all of that team's games (whether they are in the market or not) for just $59.99 per year.

with no contract -NBA Live TV: Registration for the service will be consolidated and streamlined, with all regular-season games and all commercials included ? $29.99/year without a contract.

To access NBA TV's virtual reality content, you can subscribe to the NBA TV add-on for any of the aforementioned plans that let you watch games in virtual reality. They also offer an audio stream of in-market games for a one-time price of $9.99. Or, to purchase individual games and have them accessible on any device, they charge a pay per view price of $5.99. I love how NBA TV offers so many different options for enjoying the games.

Suggestions that I have for NBA TV

I suggest that the design of NBA TV be made more streamlined in order to make it easier to toggle and switch between games.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, there is little one can hate about NBA TV. Considering the variety of features and options it offers, there is a version for everyone. If you are passionate about basketball, then there is no excuse not to use at least one of the many versions of it.