NBA Finals Most-Watched Since MJ

Morning Edition

June 17, 2026

POWERED BY

The Knicks’ first title in 53 years brought plenty of eyeballs with it. Their five-game NBA Finals win over the Spurs delivered the league’s biggest championship audience since Michael Jordan’s last Bulls title in 1998.

—Colin Salao

First Up

First at FOS: Fox executives are frustrated by what they see as ESPN’s lack of World Cup coverage. Read the story.
Trump’s World Cup czar says it’s still unclear whether a U.S.-Iran deal could affect the Iran team. Read the story.
Scottie Scheffler is one U.S. Open victory away from joining golf’s most exclusive club. Read the story.
The USMNT was assembled here in the States but developed in Europe’s top leagues. Read the story.

Knicks-Spurs Draws Most-Watched NBA Finals Since 1998

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The 2026 NBA Finals were the league’s most-watched championship series since Michael Jordan was on the Bulls.

The five-game series between the Knicks and Spurs averaged 20.6 million viewers on ABC per Nielsen data, ESPN announced Tuesday. It’s the most-watched Finals series on ABC and ESPN networks, and the most-watched NBA title series since the 1998 NBA Finals (29.04 million on NBC).

That series saw Chicago win its sixth title in eight years and was Jordan’s last series with the Bulls.

The 2026 NBA Finals also drew a 157% increase over last year’s seven-game series between the Thunder and Pacers, which drew just 10.3 million viewers last year, one of the least-watched Finals.

The series-clinching fifth game drew 24.5 million viewers, the most-watched NBA Finals game since Game 7 of the 2016 Finals between the Cavaliers and the Warriors, which featured LeBron James and Stephen Curry (31 million).

Knicks star Jalen Brunson scored 45 points in Saturday’s Game 5 to seal the win over Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in San Antonio. New York, the country’s largest television market, won its first NBA title in 53 years.

The last time the same two teams met in the Finals was 1999, a five-game series San Antonio won. It drew 16.01 million viewers. This year’s series drew about 28% more viewers.

Here is the viewership for each game of the 2026 NBA Finals:

Game 1: 16.93 million
Game 2: 16.43 million
Game 3: 23.79 million
Game 4: 20.94 million
Game 5: 24.5 million

The series outdrew the top-rated Finals in the mid- to late-2010s—four consecutive series where James and the Cavaliers faced Curry and the Warriors.

The seven-game NBA Finals between Golden State and Cleveland in 2016—when the Cavaliers became the first team to rally from a 3–1 deficit—averaged 20.28 million viewers. The following year, when the Warriors added Kevin Durant, the five-game series against the Cavaliers averaged 20.38 million viewers.

Both series were on ABC. The NBA Finals have been on the network since 2003.

Compared to other leagues, the World Series is the best comparison for the NBA Finals, given that the one-day Super Bowl consistently draws more than 100 million viewers. The last World Series to outdraw the 2026 NBA Finals was the 2016 Fall Classic between Chicago and Cleveland, which drew 22.8 million viewers. That series saw the Cubs snap a 108-year World Series drought.

It’s worth noting that Nielsen Big Data + Panel data was used to measure this year’s numbers. Nielsen has added out-of-home viewership in recent years, boosting viewership numbers across the board.

SPONSORED BY E*TRADE FROM MORGAN STANLEY

Midge Purce Gets Candid on Women’s Soccer

Gotham FC star Midge Purce joins Portfolio Players, presented by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, to discuss the biggest issues facing women’s soccer today.

From the NWSL’s proposed schedule shift and the controversial Trinity Rodman rule to player power, league growth, and the future of the sport, Purce delivers some of her most candid takes yet. She also shares lessons from producing the viral Offseason series, launching her new Vox Media podcast, and building a business career while still competing at the highest level.

Watch now.

ONE BIG FIG

The NFL’s Side Door

Imagn Images

46

That’s the number of players who’ve been selected in the NFL supplemental draft since the process began in 1977. The obscure summer event usually doesn’t draw much attention, but Brendan Sorsby has changed that. The former Texas Tech quarterback is widely viewed as the highest-profile supplemental draft prospect in more than a decade after ending his fight against the NCAA and turning his focus to the NFL.

Sorsby’s decision came just days before the June 22 deadline to enter the supplemental draft, which is expected to take place before NFL training camps open. Teams must now decide whether he’s worth giving up a 2027 NFL Draft pick, creating one of the most intriguing supplemental draft stories in years. Read the story.

DAILY SPORTS TRIVIA

Can you rank the top five NHL players by the most career games played in the Stanley Cup playoffs?

LOUD AND CLEAR

On Second Thought

Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

“You start to realize that the way the tour was before LIV came along was actually pretty good.”

—That’s what Rory McIlroy said about proposed changes to the PGA Tour schedule in the coming years. McIlroy, speaking at his pre-tournament press conference ahead of the U.S. Open, isn’t completely sold on the two-track system being proposed by PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp. “Track 2 is a glorified Korn Ferry event,” said McIlroy, referring to the PGA Tour’s feeder league, the Korn Ferry Tour.

Track 1 purses are expected to be around the $20 million mark that the PGA Tour’s eight signature events per season have had since launching in 2023. Track 2 tournament purses are likely to be under $10 million, but also higher than the $1 million purses on the Korn Ferry Tour. McIlroy said that LIV “created this false economy where we had to up prize funds and had to cut fields and try to support the top players.” Read the story.

Show Up With Style

Athletes like U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper Matt Freese get it: Confidence and style are linked. Sport Clips Haircuts is proud to help guys look their best no matter the moment. Whether it’s a big date, a job interview, or a soccer match on the world stage: When you show up with style, you show up different.

Sport Clips’s expert stylists know men’s hair inside and out. They’ve mastered the fade, perfected the beard trim, and simply own the men’s hair game, so you can leave the chair confident in how you look. The goal isn’t just to look good but to feel good, too. Because you deserve a style that’s less hat and more hat trick. That’s hair goals. That’s Sport Clips Haircuts.