This year’s NBA Finals delivered television ratings not seen in nearly three decades, as the matchup between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs captivated more than 20 million viewers on average, according to Nielsen data.
The Knicks sealed the championship with a 94-90 win over the Spurs in Game 5 on Saturday night, a contest that drew an average audience of 24.5 million on ESPN and ABC. That figure represents the largest Game 5 audience for the NBA Finals since 1998, when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls claimed their sixth title by defeating the Utah Jazz across six games — a series that averaged 29.04 million viewers.
At its peak, viewership for Saturday’s clinching game reached 33 million, as Finals MVP Jalen Brunson — who finished with 45 points — led the Knicks on a dramatic rally from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to secure the championship.
Since ESPN and ABC took over broadcast rights for the NBA Finals in 2003, this year’s series stands as the highest-rated. It is only the third time since 1999 that the Finals has averaged at least 20 million viewers per game.
By contrast, last season’s championship series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers — which the Thunder won in seven games — averaged just 10.31 million viewers, less than half of this year’s total.
