The 2025 NBA Finals features a glaring absence of the big-market teams that the average sports fan typically craves. But according to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, this shouldn’t be perceived as a negative in any way.
Based on the average DMA market size of the two teams involved, this year’s NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder marks the smallest-market NBA Finals in the league’s modern era (since 1982). Specifically, Oklahoma City sits as just the 47th biggest market based on the 2024-25 DMA market rankings, while Indiana is the 25th biggest.
It’s no secret that any league would prefer to have a New York or Los Angeles-based team if given the choice, considering the sheer population in and around both cities that are likely to tune in to support their team.
However, according to Adam Silver, who discussed the topic on Wednesday’s edition of FS1’s Breakfast Ball, the NFL has proven that market size isn’t the sole determining factor in the overall interest of a big event like the NBA Finals.
“That’s one thing I really admire about the NFL,” said Silver. “I mean, if we were going into a Super Bowl and it was Packers against Steelers, you guys would be celebrating that. Those are storied franchises. People wouldn’t be talking about how Pittsburgh is a small market. I’m happy with whatever team is in the finals. It’s been intentional to create a system through the collective bargaining agreement that allows more teams to compete. We’re going to have to go through a process of getting to the point where people are accustomed to tuning into the finals because the two teams deserve to be there, and it’s the best basketball.
“Similar to, again, with the Super Bowl. If I asked somebody if they were going to watch the Super Bowl, they wouldn’t say, ‘Who is playing?’ It’s a national holiday. And now, that’s nirvana. I’m not saying we are anywhere close to that yet. There is still… If the Knicks are in the finals, there is a segment of our fanbase that is going to watch that may not watch if it is other teams. But my job is to get people to love and follow this game. And so, if you are a huge basketball fan, you should want to tune in because that’s the best basketball.”
“If we were going into a Super Bowl and it was Packers vs. Steelers you guys would celebrate that. People wouldn’t talk about Pittsburgh being a small market. It’s been intentional to create a CBA that allows more teams to compete.”
— NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Thunder vs.… pic.twitter.com/UMO3sx3IyY
— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1) June 4, 2025
Essentially, what Silver is saying is that he wants to NBA Finals to become appointment viewing for all basketball fans, regardless of the teams involved in the NBA Finals.
That is obviously easier said than done.
And reaching the peaks of the Super Bowl, especially after the new heights the Super Bowl reached this past year in terms of viewership, obviously seems incredibly unlikely, if not outright impossible, for the NBA to do.
Ultimately, the proof will be in the pudding as to how close Silver is to attaining that goal for the NBA when we see the viewership numbers of these NBA finals.
But notably, we saw the kind of lofty viewership numbers that two big-market teams can bring in a series when the two biggest markets faced off in the World Series last season between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees.
So, at least on paper, it is quite clear that the NBA may have an uphill battle on their hands to stir up interest nationally for this year’s Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals.