Opening weekend of NBA playoffs scores best ratings in 25 years

The 2025 NBA playoffs drew the best ratings for an opening weekend in 25 years, the league announced Tuesday.

The eight-game slate on Saturday and Sunday averaged 4.4 million viewers, a 17-percent increase from a year ago.

The six games on the ABC/ESPN platforms averaged 4.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched playoffs opening weekend in network history.

The two contests carried Sunday night by TNT, truTV and MAX -- Cleveland over Miami, and Golden State downing Houston -- averaged 4.13 million viewers. That's the best ratings on that network platform in eight years and up 23 percent from 2024.

Most popular was the defending champion Boston Celtics' 103-86 home win over the Orlando Magic that tipped off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Easter Sunday. The 6.69 million average made it the second-most watched first-round Game 1 ever on ABC. Ratings peaked at 8 million viewers.

The same context held true for ESPN, which showed the host New York Knicks' 123-112 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday and averaged 4.12 million viewers. That's the second-most watched first-round Game 1 on ESPN.

The three games with the highest ratings were on ABC, the league's lone national over-the-air broadcast partner. After Magic-Celtics, the second-highest ratings went to the Minnesota Timberwolves' 117-95 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers, drawing an average of 5.4 million on Saturday night.

The least watched of ABC's three Sunday games was the Oklahoma City Thunder's 131-80 rout of the Memphis Grizzlies, which averaged 4.45 million viewers.

The positive news for the NBA was a boost after regular-season ratings were down 2 percent after double-digit decreases in the first two months, Front Office Sports reported. ABC finished with 10 percent growth, while ESPN-exclusive games were down 7 percent and TNT ratings decreased 8 percent, per Front Office Sports.

--Field Level Media