NEW YORK — The New York Knicks’ NBA championship victory over the San Antonio Spurs drew the largest television audience for an NBA Finals series in 28 years, according to Nielsen ratings released by the league and its broadcast partners.
The five-game series, which ended with the Knicks winning their first NBA title since 1973, averaged about 20.6 million viewers across ABC and ESPN, making it the most-watched NBA Finals since the 1998 championship series featuring the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz, according to Nielsen data cited by the NBA and broadcasters.
The title-clinching Game 5 on June 13 averaged approximately 24.5 million viewers and peaked at about 33 million viewers during the final stages of the broadcast, according to the ratings figures. The game was the most-watched NBA Finals Game 5 since 1998.
The championship series featured two of the league’s most closely followed storylines: the Knicks’ pursuit of their first title in more than five decades and the Spurs’ appearance behind French star Victor Wembanyama. Early games in the series also posted strong audiences. Game 1 averaged nearly 17 million viewers, the largest audience for an NBA Finals opener since 2018, while Game 3 was the most-watched Finals Game 3 since 1998, according to NBA viewership data.
The decisive game ended with a 94-90 Knicks victory. Finals Most Valuable Player Jalen Brunson led New York’s comeback effort, helping secure the franchise’s first championship in 53 years.
In a statement released by the league, the NBA said the 2026 Finals were the “most-watched championship series in 28 years,” while also reporting record engagement across digital platforms during the postseason. The league said the Finals generated billions of social media views and contributed to the most-watched NBA postseason since 1998 across multiple broadcast and streaming partners.
The ratings marked a substantial increase from the previous year’s NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, which averaged just over 10 million viewers across seven games, according to Nielsen figures cited by media reports.
Following the championship, the Knicks were celebrated with public events in New York, including a parade and appearances by players throughout the city. Team officials and league representatives have not announced any additional ratings updates since the release of the final Nielsen figures. As of Sunday, the 2026 Finals remained the league’s highest-rated championship series since 1998.
