The game attracted an average viewing figure of 24.5 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, marking it the most-watched Game 5 in 25 years, Yankee Scores reports.
The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 on Saturday night to clinch their first NBA championship in 53 years.
Knicks-Spurs was the most-watched NBA Finals in 28 years, averaging 20.6 million viewers per game on ABC and ESPN. The Knicks’ series-clinching win in Game 5 averaged 24.5 million viewers and peaked with 33 million viewers — marking the most-watched Game 5 in 28 years. The league… pic.twitter.com/d8pjBS2aaC
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 16, 2026
The viewing figure reached a high of 33 million as Finals MVP Jalen Brunson put up an amazing performance, scoring 45 points to help the Knicks win despite a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Averaging an impressive figure of 20.6 million viewers, the Finals recorded the highest viewing number since 1998. This is when Michael Jordan won his sixth and last NBA championship as part of the Chicago team against Utah (29.04 million average across six games).
The 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs generated a record 15 billion views and counting on social media, the most ever for an NBA Finals and nearly triple the previous record set in 2025. Game 5 generated more than 4 billion views, surpassing the… https://t.co/nW57urUKno pic.twitter.com/0r72zmVnh7
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 16, 2026
This year marks the best performance by the NBA playoffs since ABC and ESPN began broadcasting the event in 2003.
It’s just the third time ever since 1999 that the NBA Finals average above 20 million viewers.
In 2017, Golden State’s victory over Cleveland across five games averaged 20.47 million, and in 2016, the Cavaliers’ triumph over the same team in seven games saw an average of 20.2 million.
Last year’s match between Oklahoma City and Indiana averaged 10.31 million across seven games.
