ESPN posted a graphic Wednesday afternoon highlighting the viewership for Game 3 of the 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.
For starters, as I’ve explained since September, . 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, 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 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 Tr
