This is a list of television ratings for NBA Finals in the United States, based on Nielsen viewing data.
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 2026 NBA Finals between New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs was the most watched NBA Final series on ABC averaging a 9.4 rating / 31 share and 20.58 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. 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.
The 2019 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors had a drop in American viewership however combined North 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. At the same time, the presence of the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals boosted Canadian viewership to record levels.
For the 2020 NBA Finals, the ratings dropped to a historic low, with one of the games drawing only 5.1 million viewers. The average viewers figure over 6 games was 7.5 million, which is a 51% decline from the previous year. 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. Viewership/rating by year
Single game superlatives (1987–present)
Highest rated 1998 Game 6 – 22.3
1988 Game 7 – 21.5 1993 Game 6 – 20.3
Lowest rated 2020 Game 3 – 3.1 2020 Game 2 – 3.6 2020 Game 1 – 4.1
Most watched 1998 Game 6 – 35.856 million 1993 Game 6 – 32.100 million 2016 Game 7 – 31.02 million
Least watched 2020 Game 3 – 5.94 million* 2020 Game 2 – 6.61 million* 2020 Game 1 – 7.41 million*
Game-by-game breakdown by year (1974–present) 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. + Key to colors 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 72026ABCNew York Knicks 4, San Antonio Spurs 1 9.4/31(20.58M Viewers) 8.2/27(16.93M Viewers) 7.7/27(16.43M Viewers) 10.9/34(23.79M Viewers) 10.1/33(20.94M Viewers) 10.3/33(24.54M Viewers) No Game2025ABCOklahoma City Thunder 4, Indiana Pacers 3 5.1(10.27M Viewers) 4.7(8.91M Viewers) 4.5(8.76M Viewers) 4.8(9.19M Viewers) 4.6(9.40M Viewers) 4.9(9.54M Viewers) 4.8(9.28M Viewers) 7.6(16.35M Viewers)2024ABCBoston Celtics 4, Dallas Mavericks 1 5.8(11.31M Viewers) 5.7(10.99M Viewers) 6.2(12.31M Viewers) 6.0(12.43M Viewers) 4.7(9.62M Viewers) 6.3(12.22M Viewers) No Game2023ABCDenver Nuggets 4, Miami Heat 1 6.1(11.64M Viewers) 6.0(11.58M Viewers) 6.0(11.91M Viewers) 6.0(11.24M Viewers) 5.4(10.41M Viewers) 7.0(13.08M Viewers) No Game2022ABCGolden State Warriors 4, Boston Celtics 2 6.6(12.40M Viewers)6.4(11.90M Viewers)6.2(11.91M Viewers)6.2(11.52M Viewers)6.2(12.06M Viewers)7.0(13.03M Viewers) 7.5(13.99M Viewers) No Game 2021 ABC Milwaukee Bucks 4, Phoenix Suns 2 5.2(9.91M Viewers) 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 Heat 2 4.0(7.45M Viewers) 4.1(7.41M Viewers) 3.6(6.61M Viewers) 3.1(5.94M Viewers) 4.4(7.54M Viewers) 4.8(8.89M Viewers) 4.2(8.29M Viewers) No Game 2019 ABC Toronto Raptors 4, Golden State Warriors 2 8.8(15.14M Viewers) 7.9(13.51M Viewers) 8.0(14.05M Viewers) 7.8(13.44M Viewers) 7.6(13.16M Viewers)10.6(18.34M Viewers)10.7(18.34M Viewers) No Game 2018 ABC Golden State Warriors 4, Cleveland Cavaliers 0 10.0