It was supposed to be the night for basketball fans. Nikola Jokic vs. Stephen Curry. Championship contenders clashing in a must-watch Western Conference battle. The whole world tuned in—or at least tried to—only to be met with a spinning wheel of doom. The NBA League Pass completely collapsed, leaving furious fans staring at blank screens instead of breakneck fast breaks. What followed? Pure chaos. Memes, expletives, refund demands—and yep, Adam Silver caught a few strays too. The internet didn’t just break; it exploded.

On April 4, 2025, as the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors tipped off at Chase Center, the NBA League Pass decided it was time for a nap. The global streaming service went completely dark, blacking out for users all over the world. No audio. No video. Just tears and a flurry of tweets.

Worse? This wasn’t just one game. The Lakers vs. Pelicans—set to stream on YouTube—vanished into thin air. Nuggets vs. Warriors was supposed to be a marquee League Pass event, but viewers got nothing. And the Clippers vs. Mavericks? Yep, also on League Pass… also invisible.

It was a triple-header of top-tier chaos, and fans were not having it. Real-time updates were still available on ESPN and NBA.com, but let’s be real—nobody pays for League Pass just to read box scores. As fans scrambled for answers (and illegal streams), the NBA went silent, fueling even more outrage.

Fan Reactions: Refund the NBA League Pass

Many fans as usual, used the help of Twitter to showcase their frustration. Here are a few outstanding ones

“League Pass was working all day, but now that the Lakers are playing it decided to stop working.” The drama only intensified with the Lakers playing simultaneously. Big-name games like Lakers-Pelicans and Nuggets-Warriors happening at once can spike server demand, and clearly, NBA League Pass wasn’t built for this level of fan love. A double dose of star power? More like a double dose of server failure.

“Literally waited all damn day to watch Klay and League pass is down. IVE HAD ENOUGH.” This wasn’t just any game—it was a Klay Thompson night. Some fans organize their entire schedule around watching their favorite players, and when the official stream crashes, it’s not just a glitch—it’s a betrayal. And yeah, some people go rogue. A recent survey shows 35.3% of viewers admit they’d watch unauthorized streams normally. When blocked by tech issues like this? Probably, that goes up to 95%. Morals? Out the window when Klay’s cooking.

“WHY THE **** IS LEAGUE PASS NOT WORKING !?!?!?!?!? GET YOUR **** TOGETHER @NBA.” That tweet captured the collective mood. This isn’t the first time League Pass has fumbled. Fans have long complained about buffering, glitchy playback, region locks, and weird app issues. But a full-blown global outage during one of the most hyped matchups of the season? Unacceptable. At this point, NBA League Pass might need therapy… or a total rebuild. I mean $159.99 for the entire season and this is the service?

“we want a refund 🙃” Say it louder for the people in the nosebleeds. Refund demands came flying in, but here’s the kicker—depending on where you subscribed, your refund options range from slim to “not a chance.” If you bought it through NBA.com, you’re probably stuck. But if it was through Apple or Google? You might get lucky. Either way, fans want accountability—and emojis aren’t softening the blow.

What was supposed to be a night of basketball greatness turned into a digital nightmare—and fans made sure the league felt it. NBA League Pass outages aren’t new, but a worldwide blackout during this game? That’s next-level failure. With the playoffs around the corner, the NBA better tighten things up fast. Because if League Pass goes dark again in May? The internet might actually riot.

Small update: The storm has passed! League Pass is back online, so grab your snacks, log in, and catch up on the madness. Your favorite players are cooking—and now, you can actually watch them do it. Let’s hoop, people!