NBA Christmas Day Viewership Gives League Best Regular Season Ratings in 5 Years

The NBA scored its most-watched Christmas Day game in five years, with tune-ins boosted by a dramatic showdown between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors.

Led by LeBron James, the Lakers edged out the Warriors 115-113 on Wednesday, also giving the NBA its most-watched regular season game in five years in the process. Viewership was up 499% vs. the comparable window last year, according to the league.

The Lakers vs. Warriors game averaged 7.76 million viewers and peaked with 8.32 million viewers at 10:30 p.m. ET. James led L.A. with 31 points while the Warriors’ Steph Curry scored 17 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter.

According to Nielsen Fast Nationals, the NBA averaged 5.25 million viewers per game in the U.S. across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+, with viewership up 84% vs. last year.

The Christmas Day games began with the New York Knicks’ 117-114 win over the San Antonio Spurs averaging 4.91 million viewers, making it the most-watched Christmas Day opener in 13 years and up 98% vs. the comparable window last year.  

All five Christmas Day games saw year-over-year viewership increases, including Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics (5.16 million viewers, up 3%), Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Dallas Mavericks (4.38 million viewers, up 6%) and Denver Nuggets vs. Phoenix Suns (3.84 million viewers, up 161%). The Nuggets vs. Suns was the most-watched late window game ever for Christmas Day.

The five-game slate also generated the most-viewed Christmas Day ever for NBA League Pass, with coverage available in 214 countries and territories in 60 languages.

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