NBA Finals Game 2 ratings lowest in nearly 20 years

A Game 2 blowout in the NBA Finals on Sunday drew an average of 8.76 million viewers, the lowest for a Game 2 in the finals in 18 years – excluding 2020 during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 123-107 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers, which evened the best-of-seven series at 1-1, was the least watched Game 2 of the finals since 2007, when 8.55 million tuned in for the San Antonio Spurs-Cleveland Cavaliers matchup.
In the bubble at Walt Disney World in 2020, Game 2 of the finals between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers drew 7.54 million viewers.
This year’s Game 2 viewership saw a drop of 30 percent from last year, when the Boston Celtics faced the Dallas Mavericks, and was watched by fewer viewers than the 2021 series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, which was affected by the pandemic.
Last Thursday’s finals opener, won by the Pacers on Tyrese Haliburton’s jumper with 0.3 seconds left, peaked at 11 million viewers around the game-winning shot and averaged 8.91 million viewers. Sunday’s game saw a peak of 9.9 million viewers.
Over the first two games, the viewership average (8.84 million) decreased at least 24 percent from the past three finals.