Knicks-Spurs Finals surge to ratings heights not seen since 1998

The Knicks’ epic Game 4 comeback did monster viewership numbers for ABC.

Wednesday’s thriller against the Spurs averaged 20.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched NBA Finals Game 4 since 1998 — when Michael Jordan’s Bulls took on the Jazz with Karl Malone and John Stockton —  and the most-watched Game 4 ever on ABC, according to numbers released by Nielsen on Friday.

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And it hasn’t been just a one-game thing.

An overall photo of the NBA Finals logo before the game between the Knicks against the Spurs during Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 3, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. NBAE via Getty Images

Through four games, the Knicks-Spurs series is averaging 19.6 million viewers, up 116 percent from last year and good for the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998 and the largest Finals audience ever on ABC/ESPN.

Game 4 was also a hit online.

The NBA is calling the contest “the most-viral NBA game ever on social media” by reportedly “generating 3 billion views and counting.”

The latest numbers come after Monday’s Game 3 broadcast between the Knicks and the Spurs became the most-watched NBA Finals Game 3 in nearly three decades with 23.8 million people tuning in, and peaking at 26.3 million late in the fourth quarter.

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Games 1 and 2 were the same story, having at the time been the most-watched NBA Finals games since Games 6 and 7 of the Raptors-Warriors Finals in 2019 when Kawhi Leonard led Toronto to the title against a injury-riddled Golden State team.

The viewership surge is being driven by the rare combination of the Knicks’ first Finals appearance since 1999, a starving, massive New York market, Victor Wembanyama’s arrival on basketball’s biggest stage and multiple dramatic finishes.

With the Knicks one win away from their first NBA title since 1973, the league could be staring at an even bigger number Saturday night in San Antonio.

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-spurs-finals-surge-ratings-001605213.html

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Publish date : 2026-06-13 00:16:00

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