With an average of 20.6 million views, per Nielsen, this month’s NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs was the most-watched finals since 1998.
The Knicks’ 94-90 title-clinching Game 5 victory on Saturday night drew an average of 24.5 million viewers on ESPN and ABC, the most in a Game 5 of the finals since 1998. That 1998 series, with Michael Jordan and the Bulls winning their sixth championship by ousting the Utah Jazz, averaged 29.04 million in six games.
The audience for Game 5 peaked at 33 million, as Finals MVP Jalen Brunson (45 points) and the Knicks rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit.
Since ABC and ESPN began broadcasting the NBA Finals in 2003, this year’s ratings were the highest and marked only the third time since 1999 that the finals averaged at least 20 million viewers.
As a comparison, last year’s finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers — won by the Thunder — averaged 10.31 million over seven games.
