NBA Finals Reach Record Numbers for Game 7

Published: June 26, 2025

Basketball, March Madness — Photo from Markus Spiske via Unsplash

By Mallory Mattingly

The NBA Finals gave ABC some historic ratings for the first time in years.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers were tied 3-3 heading into game seven. During that final game of the series, OKC’s “103-91 win over the Indiana Pacers averaged 16.61 million viewers, according to same-day national figures from Nielsen (adjusted up a bit from 16.35 in preliminary numbers).”

THR said viewership peaked at 19.58 million between 9:45-10 p.m. ET.

“The 16.35 million viewers makes Sunday’s contest the most-watched NBA Finals contest since 2019, when the last two games of that series each drew better than 18 million viewers,” the outlet noted.

With those numbers, ESPN and ABC finished off the NBA season with a high. The two networks averaged a total of 6.12 million viewers for the postseason, up 10% from 2024.

The season was a success for NBA players, too.

On the way to his first NBA title, OKC guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke some records.

During the 2024-2025 season, “Gilgeous-Alexander won the scoring title, the MVP and the championship while leading his team to the best-ever point differential. And he could soon finish this wonderful year by signing a four-year, $293.4 million extension, which would give him the highest average salary in the history of the sport,” ESPN reported.

He’s only 26, so the young athlete has much more to accomplish in his career. But even if he were to retire tomorrow, he’d be a surefire bet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

He and Kareen Abdul-Jabbar are the only NBA stars in the league’s history to take home MVP and Finals MVP titles, as well as a scoring title, by age 26.

“SGA IS AWARDED THE BILL RUSSELL TROPHY AS THE NBA FINALS MVP. 4th player to win #KiaMVP, the scoring title and the Finals MVP in the same season!” the NBA wrote on X.

SGA IS AWARDED THE BILL RUSSELL TROPHY AS THE NBA FINALS MVP 🏆

4th player to win #KiaMVP, the scoring title and the Finals MVP in the same season! pic.twitter.com/JP93jzjipu

— NBA (@NBA) June 23, 2025

The MVP shared that “A lot of hard work” went into earning his first title. “A lot of hours in the gym,” he added. “This isn’t just a win for me. This is a win for my family. This is a win for my friends. This is a win for everybody in my corner growing up. This is a win for the fans. The best fans in the world. We love you guys.”

Despite all the accolades, Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t want the spotlight on only him.

“It’s a win for everybody,” he said in the postgame press conference. We prioritize winning; we don’t prioritize anything else in this game. These are the moments when the best players make their name. And I want to have those titles attached to my name.”

OKC’s victory over the Pacers certainly was a win for networks and for the Thunders’ star player.

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