This is a list of television ratings for NBA Finals in the United States, based on Nielsen viewing data.[1] The highest rated and most watched NBA Finals series was the 1998 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz, which averaged an 18.7 rating / 33 share and 29.04 million viewers on NBC. That series also featured the highest rated and most watched NBA Finals game, as the Sunday night averaged a 22.3 rating / 38 share and 35.89 million viewers. The 1987 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics was the highest rated and most watched NBA Finals series on CBS, averaging a 15.9 rating / 32 share and 24.12 million viewers. Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals registered the network's highest rated and most watched NBA game with a 21.2 rating / 37 share.
The 2015 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers was the highest rated NBA Finals series on ABC averaging an 11.6 rating / 21 share and 19.94 million viewers. The 2017 NBA Finals featuring the same two teams was the most watched NBA Final series on ABC averaging an 11.3 rating / 22 share and 20.38 million viewers. Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals registered the network's highest rated and most watched NBA game with an average 15.8 rating / 29 share and 31.02 million viewers.[2] It was the first basketball game to draw more than 30 million average viewers in 18 years, and only the seventh non-NFL sports telecast (excluding the Olympics) to have done so since 1998.[3]
The 2019 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors had a drop in American viewership. Analysts cited the presence of a Canadian team (Canadian viewership does not count towards U.S. Nielsen ratings, leading to only one U.S. home market being reflected in viewership), as a factor in the drop.[4][5] At the same time, the presence of the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals boosted Canadian viewership to record levels.[6]
For the 2020 NBA Finals, the ratings dropped to a historic low, with one of the games drawing only 5.9 million viewers.[7] The average viewers figure over 6 games was 7.5 million, which is a 51% decline from the previous year.[8] Some have claimed this was due to the players' political activism; others have claimed this was due to the finals being played out of season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as other sports such as the NHL playoffs and the MLB playoffs also showed a significant decline in ratings.[7][9]
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Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
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Highest rated[edit]
Lowest rated[edit]
|
Most watched[edit]
Least watched[edit]
|
Figures are expressed as Rating/Share. Rating represents the percentage of US TV households that watched the game, Share represents the percentage of TV sets in use that were tuned to the game. Note that game-by-game viewership for pre-2000 series were generally unavailable.
| Most viewers for each Game (1 through 7) or Average | |
| Fewest viewers for each Game (1 through 7) or Average |
| Year | Network | Results | Avg | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ABC | Boston Celtics 4, Dallas Mavericks1 |
5.8 (11.31M Viewers) |
5.7 (10.99M Viewers)[10] |
6.2 (12.31M Viewers)[11] |
6.0 (11.43M Viewers)[12] |
4.7 (9.62M Viewers)[13] |
6.3 (12.22M Viewers)[14] |
No Game | ||
| 2023 | ABC | Denver Nuggets 4, Miami Heat1 |
6.1 (11.64M Viewers)[15] |
6.0 (11.58M Viewers)[16] |
6.0 (11.91M Viewers)[17] |
6.0 (11.24M Viewers)[18] |
5.4 (10.41M Viewers)[19] |
7.0 (13.08M Viewers)[20] |
No Game | ||
| 2022 | ABC | Golden State Warriors 4, Boston Celtics2 |
6.6 (12.40M Viewers)[21] |
6.4 (11.90M Viewers)[22] |
6.2 (11.91M Viewers)[23] |
6.2 (11.52M Viewers)[24] |
6.2 (12.06M Viewers)[25] |
7.0 (13.03M Viewers)[26] |
7.5 (13.99M Viewers)[21] |
No Game | |
| 2021 | ABC | Milwaukee Bucks 4, Phoenix Suns2 |
5.2 (9.91M Viewers)[27] |
4.5 (8.56M Viewers) |
5.1 (9.38M Viewers) |
4.7 (9.02M Viewers) |
5.3 (10.25M Viewers) |
4.8 (9.55M Viewers) |
6.6 (12.52M Viewers) |
No Game | |
| 2020 | ABC | Los Angeles Lakers 4, Miami Heat2 |
4.0 (7.45M Viewers) |
4.1 (7.41M Viewers)[28] |
3.6 (6.61M Viewers)[29] |
3.1 (5.94M Viewers)[29] |
4.4 (7.54M Viewers)[30] |
4.8 (8.89M Viewers)[31] |
4.2 (8.29M Viewers)[32] |
No Game | |
| 2019[a] | ABC | Toronto Raptors 4, Golden State Warriors2 |
8.8 (15.14M Viewers) |
7.9 (13.51M Viewers)[33] |
8.0 (14.05M Viewers)[34] |
7.8 (13.44M Viewers)[35] |
7.6 (13.16M Viewers)[36] |
10.6 (18.34M Viewers)[37] |
10.7 (18.34M Viewers)[38] |
No Game | |
| 2018 | ABC | Golden State Warriors 4, Cleveland Cavaliers 0 |
10.0
(17.56M Viewers) |
10.0 (17.67M Viewers)[39] |
10.3 (18.47M Viewers)[39] |
10.4 (17.85M Viewers)[39] |
9.3 (16.24M Viewers)[39] |
No Game | |||
| 2017 | ABC | Golden State Warriors 4, Cleveland Cavaliers1 |
11.3/22 (20.38M Viewers) |
10.5[40]/20 (18.70M Viewers)[41] |
10.7[40]/20 (19.69M Viewers)[42] |
11.3[43]/21 (20.05M Viewers)[44] |
10.7[45]/22 (19.01M Viewers)[46] |
13.5[47]/25 (24.47M Viewers)[48] |
No Game | ||
| 2016 | ABC | Cleveland Cavaliers 4, Golden State Warriors3 |
11.4/21 (20.28M Viewers) |
11.1[49]/20 (19.20M Viewers)[50] |
9.8[51]/17 (17.49M Viewers)[52] |
9.7[53]/18 (16.47M Viewers)[54] |
9.8[55]/19 (16.57M Viewers)[56] |
11.8[57]/21 (20.53M Viewers)[58] |
11.8[59]/22 (20.70M Viewers)[60] |
15.8[3]/29 (31.02M viewers)[61] | |
| 2015 | ABC | Golden State Warriors 4, Cleveland Cavaliers2 |
11.6/21 (19.94M Viewers) |
10.6/20 (17.77M Viewers) |
10.8/19 (19.17M Viewers) |
11.1/20 (18.77M Viewers) |
11.7/21 (19.84M Viewers) |
11.8/21 (20.86M Viewers) |
13.4/24 (23.25M Viewers) |
No Game | |
| 2014 | ABC | San Antonio Spurs 4, Miami Heat1 |
9.3/16 (15.54M Viewers) |
9.0/15 (14.85M Viewers) |
9.0/15 (15.13M Viewers) |
9.0/15 (14.78M Viewers) |
9.3/15 (14.96M Viewers) |
10.3/18 (18.00M Viewers) |
No Game | ||
| 2013 | ABC | Miami Heat 4, San Antonio Spurs3 |
10.4/17 (17.47M Viewers) |
8.8/14 (14.24M Viewers) |
8.5/15 (14.57M Viewers) |
8.5/14 (14.05M Viewers) |
10.0/16 (16.23M Viewers) |
9.5/16 (16.27M Viewers) |
12.3/21 (20.64M Viewers) |
15.3/26 (26.32M Viewers) | |
| 2012 | ABC | Miami Heat 4, Oklahoma City Thunder1 |
10.1/17 (16.88M Viewers) |
9.9/16 (16.20M Viewers) |
10.4/17 (16.67M Viewers) |
8.8/16 (15.55M Viewers) |
10.5/18 (17.50M Viewers) |
10.9/18 (18.46M Viewers) |
No Game | ||
| 2011 | ABC | Dallas Mavericks 4, Miami Heat2 |
10.2/17 (17.39M Viewers) |
9.0/15 (15.17M Viewers) |
9.3/15 (15.52M Viewers) |
9.1/15 (15.34M Viewers) |
9.6/16 (16.13M Viewers) |
10.8/18 (18.32M Viewers) |
13.3/23 (23.88M Viewers) |
No Game | |
| 2010 | ABC | Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics3 |
10.6/18 (18.14M Viewers) |
8.6/14 (14.09M Viewers) |
9.2/15 (15.72M Viewers) |
9.6/16 (15.96M Viewers) |
9.9/18 (16.37M Viewers) |
10.8/18 (18.65M Viewers) |
10.4/18 (17.96M Viewers) |
15.6/27 (28.20M Viewers) | |
| 2009 | ABC | Los Angeles Lakers 4, Orlando Magic1 |
8.4/15 (14.35M Viewers) |
7.8/14 (13.04M Viewers) |
8.2/14 (14.06M Viewers) |
8.6/15 (14.20M Viewers) |
9.4/17 (15.96M Viewers) |
8.0/14 (14.17M Viewers) |
No Game | ||
| 2008 | ABC | Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers2 |
9.3/17 (14.94M Viewers) |
8.7/16 (13.38M Viewers) |
8.5/15 (13.50M Viewers) |
9.2/16 (14.51M Viewers) |
8.7/16 (13.76M Viewers) |
10.2/19 (16.88M Viewers) |
10.7/19 (17.39M Viewers) |
No Game | |
| 2007 | ABC | San Antonio Spurs 4, Cleveland Cavaliers 0 |
6.2/11 (9.29M Viewers) |
6.3/11 (9.21M Viewers) |
5.6/10 (8.55M Viewers) |
6.4/11 (9.49M Viewers) |
6.5/12 (9.91M Viewers) |
No Game | |||
| 2006 | ABC | Miami Heat 4, Dallas Mavericks2 |
8.5/15 (12.97M Viewers) |
7.8/14 (11.51M Viewers) |
8.0/14 (12.41M Viewers) |
8.0/14 (12.25M Viewers) |
7.8/14 (11.56M Viewers) |
9.1/17 (14.32M Viewers) |
10.1/18 (15.71M Viewers) |
No Game | |
| 2005 | ABC | San Antonio Spurs 4, Detroit Pistons3 |
8.2/15 (12.54M Viewers) |
7.2/13 (10.57M Viewers) |
6.9/12 (10.66M Viewers) |
7.2/13 (10.63M Viewers) |
7.2/13 (10.92M Viewers) |
8.4/15 (13.09M Viewers) |
8.8/15 (13.47M Viewers) |
11.9/22 (19.00M Viewers) | |
| 2004 | ABC | Detroit Pistons 4, Los Angeles Lakers1 |
11.5/20 (17.94M Viewers) |
9.8/17 (15.36M Viewers) |
10.7/19 (16.13M Viewers) |
10.5/19 (16.21M Viewers) |
12.7/22 (20.30M Viewers) |
13.8/23 (21.84M Viewers) |
No Game | ||
| 2003 | ABC | San Antonio Spurs 4, New Jersey Nets2 |
6.5/12 (9.86M Viewers) |
6.4/11 (9.60M Viewers) |
5.2/10 (8.06M Viewers) |
7.0/12 (10.76M Viewers) |
6.6/12 (9.66M Viewers) |
6.2/12 (9.31M Viewers) |
7.5/14 (11.57M Viewers) |
No Game | |
| 2002 | NBC | Los Angeles Lakers 4, New Jersey Nets 0 |
10.2/19 (15.68M Viewers) |
10.6/20 (15.85M Viewers) |
9.1/18 (14.05M Viewers) |
10.2/18 (16.21M Viewers) |
10.8/19 (16.56M Viewers) |
No Game | |||
| 2001 | NBC | Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers1 |
12.1/23 (19.00M Viewers) |
12.4/23 (18.58M Viewers) |
11.6/22 (18.72M Viewers) |
12.7/23 (20.28M Viewers) |
12.6/23 (19.97M Viewers) |
11.2/22 (17.36M Viewers) |
No Game | ||
| 2000 | NBC | Los Angeles Lakers 4, Indiana Pacers2 |
11.6/21 (17.40M Viewers) |
10.5/18 (10.56M Households) |
9.9/20 (10.02M Households) |
10.7/19 (10.84M Households) |
13.1/24 (13.17M Households) |
10.0/20 (10.04M Households) |
14.7/26 (14.85M Households) |
No Game | |
| 1999 | NBC | San Antonio Spurs 4, New York Knicks1 |
11.3/21 (16.01M Viewers) |
11.5/20 (16.57M Viewers) |
9.6/19 (13.98M Viewers) |
12.1/21 (17.01M Viewers) |
12.0/22 (16.76M Viewers) |
11.0/22 (15.53M Viewers) |
No Game | ||
| 1998 | NBC | Chicago Bulls 4, Utah Jazz2 |
18.7/33 (29.04M Viewers) |
18.0/32 (26.70M Viewers) |
16.6/31 (26.30M Viewers) |
16.2/28 (15.8M Households) |
19.1/33 (18.7M Households) |
19.8/37 (30.60M Viewers) |
22.3/38 (35.89M Viewers) |
No Game | |
| 1997 | NBC | Chicago Bulls 4, Utah Jazz2 |
16.8/30 (25.59M Viewers) |
15.8/27 (15.3M Households) |
15.1/27 (14.6M Households) |
14.2/27 (13.7M Households) |
16.9/30 (16.4M Households) |
20.1/35 (19.5M Households) |
18.5/35 (17.9M Households) |
No Game | |
| 1996 | NBC | Chicago Bulls 4, Seattle SuperSonics2 |
16.7/31 (24.86M Viewers) |
16.8/31 (16.1M Households) |
13.9/27 (13.3M Households) |
15.8/28 (15.2M Households) |
18.1/33 (17.4M Households) |
17.2/33 (16.5M Households) |
18.8/35 (18.0M Households) |
No Game | |
| 1995 | NBC | Houston Rockets 4, Orlando Magic 0 |
13.9/25 (20.10M Viewers) |
14.7/26 (14.0M Households) |
12.0/23 (11.4M Households) |
14.1/25 (13.4M Households) |
14.9/26 (14.2M Households) |
No Game | |||
| 1994 | NBC | Houston Rockets 4, New York Knicks3 |
12.3/23 (17.25M Viewers) |
12.6/23 (11.9M Households) |
10.7/21 (10.1M Households) |
12.4/24 (11.7M Households) |
12.9/23 (12.1M Households) |
7.8/14 (coverage affected by O.J. Simpson's Bronco Chase) |
11.3/24 (10.6M Households) |
17.9/31 (16.9M Households) | |
| 1993 | NBC | Chicago Bulls 4, Phoenix Suns2 |
17.9/33 (27.21M Viewers) |
16.8/29 (15.6M Households) |
14.6/29 (13.6M Households) |
17.0/32 (15.8M Households) |
19.8/35 (18.4M Households) |
19.0/36 (17.7M Households) |
20.3/39 (32.10M Viewers) |
No Game | |
| 1992 | NBC | Chicago Bulls 4, Portland Trail Blazers2 |
14.2/27 (20.84M Viewers) |
13.5/25 (12.4M Households) |
13.7/26 (12.6M Households) |
13.6/26 (12.5M Households) |
16.0/29 (14.7M Households) |
13.9/28 (12.8M Households) |
14.7/29 (13.5M Households) |
No Game | |
| 1991 | NBC | Chicago Bulls 4, Los Angeles Lakers1 |
15.8/34 (23.91M Viewers) |
12.6 | 16.1/29 (15.0M Households) |
15.7/31 (14.6M Households) |
15.2/30 (14.2M Households) |
19.7/36 (18.3M Households) |
No Game | ||
| 1990 | CBS | Detroit Pistons 4, Portland Trail Blazers1 |
12.3/25 (17.19M Viewers) |
11.8 | 12.2 | 10.8 | 13.4 | 13.2 | No Game | ||
| 1989 | CBS | Detroit Pistons 4, Los Angeles Lakers 0 |
15.1/30 (21.26M Viewers) |
14.0 | 15.6 | 13.2 | 17.4 | No Game | |||
| 1988 | CBS | Los Angeles Lakers 4, Detroit Pistons3 |
15.4/31 (21.70M Viewers) |
13.9 | 14.8 | 12.0 | 14.8 | 16.1 | 14.4 | 21.2/37 | |
| 1987 | CBS | Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics2 |
15.9/32 (24.12M Viewers) |
13.8 | 14.6 | 11.9 | 18.9 | 18.9 | 17.3 | No Game | |
| 1986 | CBS | Boston Celtics 4, Houston Rockets2 |
14.1/31 (14.43M Households) |
9.9 | 14.8 | 13.4 | 15.4 | 16.9 | 14.2 | No Game | |
| 1985 | CBS | Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics2 |
13.5/30 | --- | 14.3 | --- | 17.0 | 15.3 | 15.3 | No Game | |
| 1984 | CBS | Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers3 |
12.1/26 | --- | 12.3 | --- | 13.1 | 12.1 | --- | 19.3 | |
| 1983 | CBS | Philadelphia 76ers 4, Los Angeles Lakers 0 |
12.3/26 | --- | 12.9/23 | --- | --- | No Game | |||
| 1982 | CBS | Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers2 |
13.0/28 | ||||||||
| 1981 | CBS | Boston Celtics 4, Houston Rockets2 |
6.7/27 | ||||||||
| 1980 | CBS | Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers2 |
8.0/29 | ||||||||
| 1979 | CBS | Seattle SuperSonics 4, Washington Bullets1 |
7.2/24 | ||||||||
| 1978 | CBS | Washington Bullets 4, Seattle SuperSonics3 |
9.9/25 | ||||||||
| 1977 | CBS | Portland Trail Blazers 4, Philadelphia 76ers2 |
12.7/33 | ||||||||
| 1976 | CBS | Boston Celtics 4, Phoenix Suns2 |
11.5/29 | ||||||||
| 1975 | CBS | Golden State Warriors 4, Washington Bullets 0 |
10.1/28 (11.38M Viewers) | ||||||||
| 1974 | CBS | Boston Celtics 4, Milwaukee Bucks3 |
13.5/32 | ||||||||
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