NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hosted his annual press conference ahead of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, as the league looked ahead to the matchup between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Since the matchup was announced, sports media have repeatedly brought up concerns about the potential lack of viewership, given that this year’s Finals feature two teams from some of the smallest markets in the league.
In response to this growing narrative, Silver was asked what he thought about the amount of discussion surrounding the NBA Finals ratings this summer.
“I like the fact that people are talking about us. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. It seems a little unusual how much discussion there is around ratings in this league,” said Silver. “It seems like there’s a lot more chatter. For me, it’s just, sort of just walking down the street and fans coming up to me, often, and it frustrated me that the first thing they say is, ‘How are the ratings?’ or ‘What are the ratings going to be?’ as opposed to, ‘Wow, you just had two incredible Conference Finals, what a great playoff series you’ve had.’”
Nonetheless, entering the NBA Finals, playoff viewership ratings were up 3% overall from last year. Specifically, Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Pacers and Knicks—TNT’s final NBA broadcast of the season—drew 8.12 million viewers on Saturday night. That figure made Game 6 the most-watched game of the 2025 NBA Playoffs so far.
Silver reflected further on the league’s mindset regarding public scrutiny.
“It’s part of the culture of the NBA that we’re self-critical,” said Silver. “It’s part of the culture around the league to be looking at what’s bad as opposed to what’s good. I think it seeps into our coverage, quite honestly, sometimes.”
Looking ahead, with the NBA Finals airing on ABC this year, there has been ongoing debate about whether the ratings truly matter. After all, the league is set to embark on its new 11-year media rights deals with The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), Comcast Corporation (NBC/Peacock), and Amazon (Prime Video), reportedly worth a collective $77 billion beginning next season.
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