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Game 7 of the NBA Finals Brought in Biggest Audience of the 2020s

Winner-take-all game translates to large viewership.

Kyle Koster

Game 7 of the NBA Finals drew a big number.
Game 7 of the NBA Finals drew a big number. / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The NBA season is now officially over after the Oklahoma City Thunder prevailed over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. But the discussion about the league's ratings will continue.

Sunday night's winner-take-all contest scored a huge number, amassing over 16 million viewers with a peak that eclipsed 19 million per The Athletic's Richard Deitsch.

ESPN and the league has to be buoyed by that going into the offseason, especially after the first six games of this year's Finals represented a significant decrease from last year's Dallas Mavericks-Boston Celtics matchup.

There are no shortage of experts who think they can explain this yet the most prevailing thought is that two small-market teams do not usually add up to ratings success.

Game 7, of course, is one of the most exciting phrases in all of sports, so it's really no surprise that people tuned in to see the resolution. A close game at halftime also helped keep people engaged.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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