By Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves played in front of their biggest crowd yet, boosting TNT to its top first or second round NBA playoff audience on record.
Sunday’s Timberwolves-Nuggets second round NBA playoff Game 7 averaged a combined 4.1 rating and 8.41 million viewers across TNT (3.7, 7.51M) and truTV (0.41, 905K), marking the largest early round NBA playoff audience ever on TNT Sports (formerly Turner Sports). The previous high was 8.38 million for Magic-Celtics Game 7 in 2009. Keep in mind out-of-home viewing was not tracked in Nielsen estimates until 2020, meaning that 2009 game almost certainly averaged more viewers all things being equal.
Minnesota’s comeback win, which peaked with 11.3 million viewers from 10:15-10:30 PM ET, delivered the fourth-largest early round audience since 2012 — behind three games last year: Warriors-Kings Game 7 on ABC in the first round (9.84M), Warriors-Lakers Game 6 on ESPN in the second round (8.64M) and Sixers-Celtics Game 7 on ABC in the second round (8.44M).
As goes without saying, it delivered the largest audience of the NBA season.
Compared to the previous second round Game 7 on TNT — the Mavericks’ 2022 drubbing of the Suns — ratings increased 29% (from 3.2) and viewership 34% (from 6.29M). Going back further, Timberwolves-Nuggets ranks tenth among early round Game 7s in the past 30 years, a list topped by Pacers-Knicks in 1995 (12.89M).
Speaking of Pacers-Knicks, this year’s Game 7 averaged a 3.4 and 6.45 million on ABC — down 11% in ratings and 24% in viewership from Sixers-Celtics in the same window last year (3.9, 8.44M) and the least-watched second round Game 7 on broadcast television since Blazers-Nuggets in 2019 (6.35M). The game aired directly opposite the PGA Championship, tougher competition than is typical in that window.
After opening with a pair of increases, the subsequent five games of Pacers-Knicks declined from last year’s equivalent windows.
Rounding out a busy NBA playoff weekend, Thunder-Mavericks Game 6 averaged a 2.9 and 5.60 million on ABC Saturday night. There was no comparable window last year as the NBA does not typically schedule Saturday games on the final weekend of the second round.
Through the second round, NBA playoff games were averaging a 2.0 rating and 3.77 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT/truTV and NBA TV — down 10% in ratings and 11% in viewership from the same point last year (2.3, 4.25M), but the second-most watched postseason through two rounds in the past decade. Compared to two years ago, ratings are down a tick but viewership is up 2% from 3.71 million.
