The In-Season Tournament continues to be a solid draw for the NBA that only seems to be getting stronger.
Friday’s 122-119 victory for the Los Angeles Lakers over the Phoenix Suns averaged 1.929 million viewers on ESPN, per SportsMediaWatch — good enough to overtake Mavericks-Nuggets (1.796M viewers) as the most-watched IST game thus far.
That viewership figure also represents a 73% increase from last year’s equivalent Friday night game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves (1.12M). ESPN reports that average viewership for the In-Season Tournament is up 55% against the comparable windows last season (1.7M vs. 1.1M).
However, the early In-Season Tournament game on Friday, Nets-Celtics, averaged just 1.408 million viewers — a 4% decrease from last year’s comparable game (Bulls-Celtics, 1.47M) and making it the least-watched IST game so far.
Still, the early returns have to be promising for ESPN, who reported that the first IST Friday represented a 32% increase in average viewership from all of its Friday NBA games last season.
In its most recent financial reporting, Disney reported that ESPN generated nearly $1 billion in profits during the fourth quarter of its fiscal year.
ESPN and the NBA will look to keep building on the decent viewership as the tournament continues, starting with its first Tuesday slate on Nov. 14.
![The University of Alabama showed off renovations to Bryant Denny Stadium Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. Sports Illustrated covers decorate the walls inside the new press box. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/USATSI_15005835_168422351_lowres-scaled-e1779297429645.jpg?quality=80&w=300)
