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The NBA on TNT went out on a high note.
Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Pacers and Knicks, the last NBA game on TNT, drew 8.12 million viewers Saturday, the most-watched game of the 2025 NBA playoffs so far. The previous high was 7.35 million for Game 4 of the first-round series between the Timberwolves and Lakers on ABC.
The entire six-game series averaged 7 million viewers, up 10% from last year’s series (Celtics vs. Pacers, a four-game sweep). The final TNT episode of Inside the NBA drew 3.5 million viewers, a two-year high for the iconic studio show.
The NBA Finals will air on ABC. The league’s 11-year, $77 billion media-rights deal with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video will start next season.
Will the NBA Finals Deliver?
This year’s NBA playoffs as a whole are averaging 4.5 million viewers, up 3% from last year and the same percentage increase the league had after the second round. The growth comes despite the five-game Western Conference finals series between the T-Wolves and Thunder averaging 5.59 million viewers, down 17% from last year. The series was filled with blowouts as four of the five games were decided by 15 points or more, and three by more than 25 points.
With two small-market teams, the NBA Finals are expected to draw lower ratings even compared to the below-average 11.3 million viewers from last year’s Finals. It doesn’t help that the Thunder are overwhelming favorites to win (-750 on FanDuel).
While MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has yet to deliver huge TV audiences, he is the most-watched player across NBA Social this postseason. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is third.
