How NBA Finals Broke Record With Over 5 Billion Views
This year’s NBA Finals shattered records on and off the court, with over 5 billion views across social media platforms, a massive 215% increase compared to last season’s championship series.
The NBA announced the figures on Tuesday, showing how global interest in the Finals continues to grow. TV viewership also jumped, with ESPN and ABC seeing a 10% rise in average viewers during their 34 playoff broadcasts compared to last year.
The biggest highlight came from Game 7, where Oklahoma City defeated Indiana 103–91. It became the most watched NBA Finals game in six years, averaging 16.53 million viewers on ABC and ESPN+, with peak viewership hitting 19.28 million in the second half.
This is the first time the NBA Finals has drawn more than 16 million viewers since Toronto’s 2019 title win over Golden State, which had 18.34 million. The last Game 7, back in 2016 when Cleveland beat Golden State, averaged a huge 31.02 million viewers.
Although the full series averaged 10.27 million viewers, slightly below last year’s five game Finals between Boston and Dallas (11.31 million), it still became the most watched television event since early May.
Internationally, Game 7 broke another record. It was the most watched NBA Finals game ever on NBA League Pass, with a 42% increase compared to last year’s title clinching match.
The numbers prove that basketball’s biggest stage continues to draw fans in huge numbers, both in front of the TV and on mobile screens around the world.
