Despite the Indiana Pacers adding some excitement to a series that was widely expected to go the Oklahoma City Thunder’s way in Game 1, Sunday’s Game 2 did not benefit from a viewership standpoint.
According to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, the Thunder’s convincing Game 2 win on Sunday night averaged 8.76 million viewers on ABC, the least-watched Game 2 of the NBA Finals since the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers during the 2020 “bubble” playoffs (6.78 million viewers). That night, as Lewis notes, also coincided with news coverage of the sitting president being hospitalized due to COVID.
Outside of the “bubble,” it was the least-watched Game 2 since the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs in 2007 (8.55 million viewers), which competed head-to-head with the series finale of The Sopranos, per Lewis. Sunday’s game also decreased 29% versus Game 2 of last year’s Dallas Mavericks-Boston Celtics series (12.31 million viewers).
No matter how you slice it, the NBA’s small-market Finals are playing out just as many expected they would.
Viewership peaked at 9.9 million viewers in the 9:45 p.m. ET quarter-hour, well short of the 11.1 million viewer peak for Game 1.
No doubt, the noncompetitive nature of Game 2 contributed to the poor number. The Thunder held a commanding lead for much of the game, and never truly let the Pacers back in. On the other hand, Game 1 came down to a thrilling buzzer-beater by Tyrese Haliburton.
Likely the only opportunity this series will have to redeem itself from a viewership perspective is going to a sixth or seventh game. Do-or-die championship games tend to rate well, no matter which teams are playing.
Outside of a series that goes the distance, this year’s NBA Finals seem destined to be one of the least-watched in the modern era.