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Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night set a record for the lowest viewership in 37 years. The game, which aired on ABC, averaged 8.91 million viewers - making it the least-watched Game One of the NBA Finals since 1988, the year Nielsen began tracking the number.
It wasn't just the least-viewed but also the lowest-rated (4.7) Game One of the NBA Finals in the same time frame. The record-low numbers, which exclude the COVID years of 2020 and 2021, came just after Commissioner Adam Silver went on to talk about the extent of two small-market teams in the NBA Finals.
For viewership comparison, the gold medal match during the 4 Nations this season in the NHL between Canada and the USA averaged 9.3 million viewers, a record-high. The Indiana Pacers took Game 1 from the Thunder after guard Tyrese Haliburton hit a game-winning shot with under a second left - making it Indiana's only lead of the entire game en route to their 111-110 victory. Viewership at the time of the shot peaked at 11 million, so perhaps things will look a little better for the league on Sunday. Game 2 will be in Oklahoma City and will take place on Sunday, 8th of June.
