The New York Knicks’ historic NBA championship run drove some of the biggest television audiences the league Finals has seen in decades.
Saturday’s Game 5 averaged 24.5M viewers across ABC and ESPN, per Nielsen Big Data + Panel, marking the most-watched NBA Finals game since 1998, when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won their sixth title in eight seasons. It peaked with 33M viewers in the final moments of the game as the Knicks sealed a victory.
And, in fact, the entire series was a slam dunk, driving the highest average viewership since 1998 as well. Across five games, ABC and ESPN saw an average 20.6M viewers tune in.
The games clearly dominated television (and the collective consciousness), especially once the Knicks were poised to upset the San Antonio Spurs for the team’s first title in 53 years.
Per Nielsen, the Finals were generating the largest viewing audience of the day across all of television and in every key male and adult demo.