NBA Finals Ratings: League Must Learn To Sell Small Market Teams

The Thunder-Pacers on Thursday averaged just 8.91 million viewers, marking the least-watched opening Game 1 of an NBA Finals series of the Nielsen meter era (since 1988), aside from the COVID years in 2020 and 2021.

The historical low is not exactly surprising. 

The NBA is less popular today than at any point in the last 35 years. Moreover, the league has never fared well when two small-market teams competed in the Finals. In 2005, Game 1 of the Spurs and Pistons Finals averaged 10.6 million viewers. Two years later, Game 1 of the Spurs-Cavs series drew only 9.3 million.

Luckily, for the NBA, major market teams have traditionally found themselves in The Finals year after year—from the Lakers to the Celtics, from the Bulls to the Warriors.

The league is certainly hoping that trend continues. The NBA would like to see Luka Doncic establish the Lakers as the NBA's next dynasty. (That's why the league scripted the trade, right? Kidding. Sort of.)

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JUNE 5: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers scores the game-winning basket during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game One of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 5, 2025 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

However, changes to the NBA salary cap structure have made it harder for major market teams to poach superstar talent away from the small markets. In 2017, the NBA introduced the "supermax" to incentivize star players to re-sign with the team that