As the San Antonio Spurs flirt with a sixth NBA Championship title, people all over the globe are switching on their screens to see the team face off against the New York Knicks – and no, you’re not just imagining the heightened hype.
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A Friday news release from ABC announced the Spurs’ Game 1 matchup against the Knicks was the “most-watched” NBA Finals game since 2018, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel. So, just how many people watched?
Data gathered over the course of Wednesday night’s game shows that the average number of viewers climbed to 17 million, while the program’s peak viewership spiked to nearly 19.63 million viewers at 10 p.m.
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Basketballs line the bench prior to the start of Game 2 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Friday, June 5, 2026. (Katina Zentz/San Antonio Express-News)
That’s the largest Game 1 audience ABC has seen in nearly a decade, “excluding the Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals matchups,” the release reads. Additionally, audience numbers were up 90% from last year’s Game 1 between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Why is viewership for this 2026 NBA finals series skyrocketing? According to a Friday report from the NBA, it may have something to do with the Knick’s first time back at the finals since 1999 – as well as Victor Wembanyama’s international star power.
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama answers questions during a news conference at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News)
“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.”
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This article originally published at NBA Finals ratings surge as Spurs-Knicks Game 1 attracts nearly 20 million viewers.