NBA Finals ratings surge as the league welcomes Trump, drops woke messaging — but is it sustainable?
ESPN posted a graphic Wednesday afternoon highlighting the viewership for Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Spurs and Knicks.
The ratings were significant. The network says the game averaged 23.8 million viewers, making it the largest NBA Finals Game 3 audience since 1998 and the most-watched NBA Finals Game 3 ever on ABC and ESPN.
You'd think the NBA's media fanboys would be pleased. The ratings are undeniably impressive. Instead, they did what they so often do whenever the NBA claims to receive positive news. They tweet at OutKick, Clay Travis and me. Sometimes they even bring us up on Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo's podcasts.
So, as requested, we'll offer our thoughts. However, since so many people want our reaction, it's worth providing some proper context first.
NBA PLAYOFFS RATINGS ARE NOT ACTUALLY THE HIGHEST IN 33 YEARS, AS REPORTED
For starters, as I've explained since September, Nielsen changed its methodology. The new system, known as Big Data + Panel, combines data from digital devices with panel data from actual viewers. There are differing opinions about whether the system is more or less accurate. Nonetheless, it has dramatically increased audience estimates for live sports.
Nearly every live sporting event across the NFL, MLB, NHL, college basketball, tennis, golf, the World Baseball Classic and the NBA has posted near-record ratings since the measurement change. The lone exception appears to be the second half of the Super Bowl, which saw an unprecedented drop following Bad Bunny's halftime performance.
The NBA playoffs have also benefited from other structural changes. For the first time this season, first-round games were not carried on local affiliates, pushing more viewers toward national broadcasts. The league also shifted games from TNT, a cable network, to NBC, a broadcast network that reaches significantly more homes.
Simply put, comparing NBA playoff ratings in 2026 to previous seasons without acknowledging those changes is misleading. No honest outlet can directly compare games that aired on TNT and NBA TV under the old measurement system to games airing on NBC under the new one.
No wonder so many blogs continue to do so.
Further complicating matters is the rise of streaming. Networks now incorporate self-reported streaming data alongside Nielsen's television measurements. NBC, for example, uses Adobe Analytics to measure Peacock viewership and combines those figures with traditional television audiences.
The challenge is that streaming measurements are often calculated differently from traditional television audiences, which are based on average viewers throughout an entire telecast rather than concurrent viewers at specific moments.
To be clear, networks use similar methods across virtually every major sport. The difference is that fans and media members of other leagues don't demand that OutKick respond every time a league issues a favorable press release.
Even with those caveats, the NBA Finals are performing better than recent editions. While Monday night's game is unlikely the highest-rated Game 3 since 1998 in a true apples-to-apples comparison, it was almost certainly the most-watched Game 3 in quite some time.
That shouldn't surprise anyone.
OutKick predicted before the Finals that the ratings would be strong. How could they not be?
The Knicks play in New York City, the nation's largest television market. The franchise is pursuing its first NBA championship since 1973. Ticket prices are equivalent to the Super Bowl. The 2026 Knicks are exactly the type of story that attracts casual sports fans.
Just as importantly, the NBA has largely gotten out of its own way.
"Congrats to Adam Silver and the NBA," OutKick founder Clay Travis posted following the ratings announcement. "This has never been rocket science. Silver says he's thrilled President Trump is coming to Game 3, says he wants fans of all politics to watch, and fans show up in big numbers. (New ratings formula and Wemby and Knicks hating each other helps too)."
"For a decade LeBron, Silver, Popovich and Kerr ridiculed Trump voters and Republicans. That has now ended. It's a return to the Jordan, 'Republicans buy sneakers too,' era. Smart business and good for sports culture too. Good decisions get rewarded, bad decisions get punished," Travis concluded.
Indeed.
A YouGov/Yahoo News poll in 2021 found that nearly half of Americans had altered their viewing habits because of political or social messaging in sports. The previous year, the NBA prominently displayed "Black Lives Matter," as in the Marxist political organization, on the court during the COVID-affected bubble season, a postseason in which viewership dropped by 50%.
The NFL also experienced this, though to a lesser extent. League viewership declined by double digits during the height of the national anthem protests in 2016 and 2017. It wasn't until this year, a decade later, that the NFL fully recovered its favorability among conservative viewers.
By and large, the NBA, as a whole, has distanced itself from overt political messaging in recent years. Again, Adam Silver publicly welcomed President Trump to the Finals.
So seeing the league experience this level of success, even if not quite to the degree suggested by every press release, is hardly surprising.
And for those who believe the ratings rebound somehow reflects poorly on OutKick, none of it contradicts what I've previously reported. I simply cited publicly available data that many others willfully ignored.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP REACTS TO SPURS STAR VICTOR WEMBANYAMA FOLDING HIS ARMS DURING THE ANTHEM
I never argued that the NBA could not recover. I reported that ratings had declined and offered explanations for why.
In fact, earlier this season, I advised the NBA to "Lean into foreign superstars and leave the BLM era behind." The league has largely done just that.
It also helps that Victor Wembanyama is a Black international player. Here's a side-by-side comparison of how current and former players view him differently from White foreign players like Jokic and Luka.
Speaking of Wembanyama, he will play a major role in determining whether the NBA's newfound momentum is sustainable.
At times during these Finals, the 22-year-old has looked like a player not yet ready for the moment. That ending of Game 2 was bad. Still, he is clearly positioned to become the face of the NBA for the next decade.
In terms of cultural activism, the NBA needs Wembanyama to be more Michael Jordan than LeBron James. But he's not off to a great start.
Wembanyama, who was born in France, already falsely accused ICE of "murdering" civilians earlier this year. He also crossed his arms during the national anthem before Game 1, which some fans took as a moment of protest.
OutKick asked both the Spurs and Wembanyama's representatives for clarification regarding the gesture. Neither provided a response.
As evidenced by the selection of Bad Bunny for the halftime show, an American sports league can alienate fans on political and cultural grounds just as quickly as it wins them back.
The league also won't have the New York Knicks chasing their first championship in more than 50 years every season. Nielsen is unlikely to overhaul its methodology again anytime soon.
In any event, I advise the NBA media and fanboys to enjoy the basketball. The league is in a healthier place today than it was a few years ago. The ratings are up. Interest is up. The Finals matchup is compelling. The league has, for the most part, stepped away from the political messaging that alienated a sizable portion of the audience.
Enjoy it — while it lasts.
This might not be the case next year. And because you all demand OutKick cover the ratings so often, I will have to point that out.