NBA playoff data hit a new high since 2014, shutting up fans who are dissatisfied with the ratings

The ratings and audience numbers in the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs hit the second highest since 2014.

The 2025 NBA playoffs are full of exciting matchups, including veteran superstars like Stephen Curry and LeBron James, as well as new stars like Anthony Edwards and Shay Gilgers-Alexander. There are only four teams left to enter the Eastern Conference Finals: the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks.

Although the ratings and ratings of the 2024-25 season have always been hot topics in the league, the ratings data for the playoffs are unquestionable. Before the start of the Western Conference Finals and Eastern Conference Finals, the NBA released data showing that the first two rounds of the playoffs set the second highest NBA playoff ratings since 2014. The average NBA playoffs ratings on ABC, ESPN and TNT TV stations were 4.17 million, an increase of 3% from 2024. It is also the second highest ratings from the playoffs to the Eastern Conference semi-finals in the past 11 seasons, second only to the 2023 playoffs. The average viewership in the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals was 4.91 million, an increase of 1% from last year. The final game of the Western Conference Semi-Finals was held Sunday, with the Thunder defeating the Denver Nuggets 125-93 to advance to the Western Conference Finals. The game was aired on ABC TV, with an average viewership of 6.34 million, and the peak of 7.63 million at 5:15 pm Eastern Time. The game was the highest-rated show of all key crowds on May 18, according to data released by the league.

Before this final between Denver and Oklahoma City, the Knicks and the Boston Celtics finished their series in New York. On May 16, the sixth game of the series aired on ESPN with an average viewership of 5.73 million, an increase of 14% over the same period last year's playoffs. The game with the highest ratings in the playoffs is still the fourth game between the Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, with an average viewership of 7.35 million.

In the first round of the NBA playoffs, the seventh game between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets became the seventh game of the first-round playoff series with the highest viewership in cable channels since 2009, with an average of 6.6 million viewers.

Although the NBA's ratings and ratings sometimes declined in 82 regular season games, the NBA's playoff ratings are obviously still setting new highs.

Now, the league has turned its attention to the seventh place in the Eastern Conference Finals title in the past seven seasons. The Knicks are the only team in the playoffs to win the championship, and the other three teams have never won the NBA championship.

The Indiana Pacers have won three ABA championships, and the Thunder have failed to win the championship since they moved and renamed from the Seattle Supersonics before the 2008-09 season. Oklahoma City does not recognize the Supersonics’ history and championship as part of the team’s legend. The Timberwolves and Thunder’s first Western Conference Finals game will be held Tuesday, May 20. The Eastern Conference Finals series for New York and Indiana will begin Wednesday, May 21.