NBA Finals Featuring Thunder and Pacers Remains Resilient in Face of Lower Audience Viewership
In case the NBA's hidden machinations are as real as some Reddit enthusiasts claim, the brains behind the operation really flubbed things up on Saturday night. The Indiana Pacers clinched the Eastern Conference crown with a 125-108 victory over the NY Knicks— a move that snuffed out the dreams of spectators in the country's most prominent media market and any hope for a solid viewership for the Finals. By sending Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson packing, the Pacers gave Young Timothée Chalamet a massive heartache and probably dimmed the lights in numerous New York TV households.
Knicks fans, even the die-hards, would relish in seeing Tyrese Haliburton and co. go up in flames against the Oklahoma City Thunder, should that be in the cards. But with the elimination of New York's bandwagon hoppers, the NBA is left wrangling with one of the most specialized Finals pairings in recent memory, and a short series would guarantee a meager TV turnout.
To be fair, the Thunder's accomplishments throughout the 2024-25 season indicate that the Pacers probably won't be sticking around for long. During their season, OKC outdid itself, setting an NBA record with an average margin of victory of 12.9 points per game. And in the postseason, things got even lopsided. The Thunder pulverized the Bucks in a 51-point blowout to start the playoffs, crushed Denver by 43 in Game 2 of the second round, and bested Minnesota by 26, 15, and 42 points in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder's playoff run averaged a staggering margin of victory of 23.2 points per game over their first 12 wins, taking a massive toll on the ratings.
The May 28 demolition of the Timberwolves averaged just 4.62 million viewers on ESPN, marking the least-watched Game 5 of a WCF in 18 years. With New York out of the picture, the NBA is left with one of its smallest home markets in the Finals, and while Indianapolis may push the ratings needle a bit more than OKC, it can't touch the capital of the coasts.
The NBA's new $77 billion media rights deal kicks in this October, and should certainly help smooth over any discomfort related to lower ratings. It's true that a tepid turnout isn't a given—if the Finals push into a seventh game, the ratings will help offset any early broadcast under-deliveries. In this century, only four series have required a seventh game, with average audiences ranging from 19 million to 31 million.
The Pacers' six-game duel with the star-studded Knicks' fan base has garnered the team a new level of familiarity, even if they were all but invisible during the first round. Three of their games against the Bucks were aired on the relatively low-key cable network NBA TV (average draw: 608,000 viewers), but the Eastern Conference Finals series put up strong numbers throughout, averaging 6.74 million viewers through Game 5. Tyrese Haliburton shone during this series, creating some much-needed small-market recognition— even if it was through a meme-worthy callback to the Reggie Miller era. Despite the underdog status, the odds are in Oklahoma City's favor. Oddsmakers have the Thunder listed as -700 favorites to win the title, while the Pacers are expected to open the series at +500. In the last 50 years, only one of the 10 teams booked as -600 or better on the eve of the NBA Finals actually failed to take home the championship trophy (the 2004 Lakers). With that in mind, the Thunder are listed as 9-point favorites for the home opener on Thursday. In a best-of-seven series, ABC's cleanest shot at clinching the Finals in the ratings column is a full slate of games. If the Thunder and Pacers are still playing basketball on Sunday, June 22, those Game 7 impressions will all but erase any make-good obligations stemming from the early broadcasts—a tall order, given the one-sided nature of OKC's games. But sometimes the prognosticators get it wrong. Sometimes. Thunder in 5.
Did you know?
The NBA Finals feature teams from smaller media markets, with the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder squaring off this year. As a result, TV ratings are predicted to be lower than previous years. Last year's NBA Finals averaged 11.3 million viewers, and it's doubtful that the Indiana-Oklahoma City matchup will match that number. So far, the NBA playoffs have seen a 3% increase in viewership, averaging around 4.5 million viewers. The Pacers-Knicks series, which finished on Saturday, averaged 7 million viewers. The Western Conference Finals, which ended on May 28, garnered 5.6 million viewers, down 17% from last year. With the new media rights deal starting next season, the NBA remains optimistic about future growth, especially as teams like the Pacers and Thunder are expected to appear in more national broadcasts.
People may be disappointed with the playoff ratings for the upcoming NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, as these teams hail from smaller media markets. Compared to last year's NBA Finals average of 11.3 million viewers, the viewership for the Finals between the Pacers and Thunder is predicted to be lower. However, the NBA remains hopeful about future growth, especially as smaller market teams like these two are expected to receive more national broadcasts due to the new media rights deal starting next season.
