Knicks-Spurs was most-watched NBA Finals Game 1 since 2018 - NBA.com

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. Game 1 of the Finals matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks averaged nearly 17 million viewers on Wednesday night, up 90% when compared to last season’s Finals Game 1. It was the most-watched Game 1 since 2018, the most recent time James — then of Cleveland — and Golden State’s Curry faced off in the title round. https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/2063054357180875166 https://twitter.com/ESPNPR/status/2063004461899960487 Wednesday’s game had a peak audience of 19.63 million viewers around 11 p.m. EDT, which would have been in the fourth quarter of New York’s 105-95 victory. It was the most-watched Finals Game 1 ever on ABC and the most-watched Finals contest since Game 6 of the 2019 title series between Toronto and Golden State. ESPN’s coverage of the 2026 NBA Finals on ABC continues with Game 2 tonight (8:30 p.m ET). https://twitter.com/NBA/status/2062999391439401080 Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.