Historic viewership shuts down critics’ claims
The 2025 NBA Finals has already rewritten the record books, fueled by a rare seven-game showdown between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. Heading into the series, many questioned whether small-market teams would hurt the NBA Finals’ ratings.
The 2025 NBA Finals opened to underwhelming numbers, marking one of the lowest viewership starts in recent memory. But as the series intensified, more fans tuned in, drawn by Tyrese Haliburton’s thrilling clutch plays and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP level performances.
With the series poised at even and game 7 looming, it was obvious that more fans will tune into it. It was the first NBA Finals Game 7 in eight years, the last coming in the 2016 clash between the Warriors and Cavaliers. The excitement for the final matchup was more than ever.
The Thunder vs. Pacers game on Sunday night drew an average of 16.4 million viewers. It peaked with nearly 20 million viewers. It went on to become the most-watched NBA Finals game since 2019. Being just the 20th game 7 of the NBA Finals history, Thunder vs. Pacers game registered many more records.
According to Videocites, the NBA racked up a staggering 5 billion views across all social media platforms during the Finals. This figure is up by almost 215% from last year’s Finals series.
The league also managed to tap a huge international market. The game 7 between the OKC Thunder and the Indiana Pacers became the most watched finals game internationally with the league pass. International viewership surged by nearly 42% compared to last year’s Celtics vs. Mavericks series.
The viewership of the postseason for ABC and ESPN also went up by almost 10 percent, averaging 6.12 million audience. Contrary to concerns about small-market appeal, the 2025 NBA Finals delivered strong viewership across every platform.
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