Warriors' Game 7 win drives big numbers for surging NBA ratings

The Golden State Warriors' Game 7 victory at the Houston Rockets on Sunday night was the most-watched first round NBA playoff game on TNT since 2009.

The game averaged 6.63 million viewers across TNT and truTV, the highest mark for a first-round game on cable since Game 6 between the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics averaged 6.99 million viewers on TNT 16 years ago.

It is worth noting that Nielsen did not start tracking out-of-home viewing in its numbers until 2020.

The Warriors' convincing 103-89 win on Sunday night was also the third-most watched game of the entire first round, topped only by a pair of games broadcast by ABC: Game 4 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timbewolves (7.35 million) and Boston's Game 1 victory over the Orlando Magic on Easter (6.69 million).

The Sunday night game also clearly eclipsed the other Game 7 of the weekend, with the Denver Nuggets' easy victory over the Los Angeles Clippers averaging 4.21 million viewers on TNT and truTV on Saturday night.

The entire first round of the 2025 playoffs averaged 3.27 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. That was up 6 percent over last year, and was helped by the 4.4 million average viewers who tuned into the eight-game opening slate over Easter weekend.

ABC averaged 5.56 million viewers over its six games, up 14 percent from last year, while ESPN platforms including ABC and ESPN averaged 4.46 million across 12 games, also up 14 percent. TNT's 25 first-round playoff games drew an average of 3.3 million viewers, representing a 3 percent increase over 2024.

Indiana opened the second round of the playoffs with a win at Cleveland on Sunday that drew 4.38 million on TNT.

The seventh-seeded Warriors open their second-round series against the sixth-seeded Timberwolves on Tuesday night. While the series pits a pair of lower seeds, it also features Golden State against a Minnesota team led by young superstar Anthony Edwards, who was the most-watched player on NBA social media in the first round, according to Front Office Sports.

--Field Level Media