Viewership for NBA Finals Game 1 up 90% vs. 2025 opener

SAN ANTONIO -- The star power of Victor Wembanyama and Jalen Brunson helped this year's NBA Finals get off to a huge start in terms of viewership, the likes of which hadn't been seen since the last finals matchup between LeBron James and Stephen Curry eight years ago.

Game 1 of the finals matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks averaged nearly 17 million viewers on Wednesday night, up 90% when compared to last season's finals Game 1. It was the most-watched Game 1 since 2018, the most recent time James -- then of Cleveland -- and Golden State's Curry faced off in the title round.

Wednesday's game had a peak audience of 19.63 million viewers around 11 p.m. EDT, which would have been in the fourth quarter of New York's 105-95 victory.

It was the most-watched finals Game 1 ever on ABC and the most-watched finals contest since Game 6 of the 2019 title series between Toronto and Golden State.

The viewership numbers for Game 1 on Wednesday were higher than the opening game of 15 of the past 16 World Series, including the 2024 series opener between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers -- a matchup pitting the country's top two media markets. That game averaged 15.2 million viewers.