Thunder’s Game 7 victory most-watched NBA Finals game in 6 years

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 103-91 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 was the most-watched NBA Finals game in six years.

Sunday night’s game averaged 16.53 million on ABC and ESPN+, according to preliminary ratings data from Nielsen. The audience peaked at 19.28 million during the second half (9:45-10 p.m. ET).

It is the first time since the Toronto Raptors wrapped up their title in Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors in 2019 (18.34 million) that the Finals have had an audience over 16 million. The last Game 7, when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Golden State in 2016, averaged 31.02 million.

The seven-game series averaged 10.27 million, down from the 11.31 million average for the Boston Celtics’ victory over the Dallas Mavericks in five games last year.

The seven games were the most-watched television broadcasts since the first week of May.

ESPN and ABC averaged 6.12 million for the 34 games they carried during the playoffs, a 10% increase over last year.