NBC’s first Sunday Night Basketball doubleheader delivered strong ratings for the network.
The NBA version of Sunday Night Football for the NFL began with a matchup between the Knicks and Lakers. The game, which tipped-off at 7 p.m. ET, drew 4.5 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo, per Nielsen and Adobe Analytics data.
It was the most-watched game of the 2025–26 NBA regular-season across all networks, excluding Christmas Day and opening night games. It was also the most-watched Sunday night game of the regular-season since 2002, when NBC last had the NBA’s broadcasting rights.
The night cap between the Thunder and Nuggets that tipped-off at 9:30 p.m. drew 2.9 million viewers, which NBC said is the most-watched late primetime game on record.
The Sunday night doubleheader combined to draw 3.7 million viewers.
The NBA is averaging 1.85 million viewers so far this season. That’s up 19% compared to the same period last year when the league consistently faced criticisms about declining viewership.
The league has leaned into promoting its increased reach this season. Nationally broadcast games have had more than 132 million unique viewers this year, up 86% from last season.
The next edition of Sunday Night Basketball will be on Feb. 22 to give way for the Super Bowl and the NBA All-Star Game over the next two Sundays, respectively. It will feature a single game between the Celtics and Lakers. The two teams’ battle in March drew 4.6 million viewers, the most-watched regular-season game of last season, excluding Christmas Day.
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