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 ***** le series since the 1998 NBA Finals (29.04 million on NBC).
That series saw Chicago win its sixth ***** le 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 ever.
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).
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 ***** le series since the 1998 NBA Finals (29.04 million on NBC).
That series saw Chicago win its sixth ***** le 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 ever.
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).
8 days ago
