The lowest EVER?! … That’s crazy.

The television ratings for Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder brought in the biggest audience of the entire series thus far, tallying a total of 9.19 million viewers. Compared to the 2024 Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, that’s a 20% dropoff as their Game 3 pulled in 11.43 million viewers. (RELATED: ‘Stupidest People In World’: Charles Barkley Rips Knicks For Incredibly Dumb Decision That’s Backfiring)

In three games, the 2025 NBA Finals has seen an average of only 8.95 million viewers, which is down 23% when compared to ’24. With the exception of the COVID-19 edition of the NBA Finals that took place out of season, the 2025 NBA Finals is currently on pace to be the lowest-viewed ever in the Nielsen meter era, which launched back in 1988.

Yeah, not the best, and just another problem for a league with a lot of them.

From NBA PR:

Indiana’s Game 3 victory over Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals on ABC peaked with 11.54 million viewers at 11 p.m. ET.

The first three games of the NBA Finals have been the most-watched programs on TV since the first week of May.

The NBA Finals have generated more…

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) June 12, 2025

The NBA has its problems, but the Finals should still generate ratings. The way I’m seeing it, people aren’t tuning in because it’s the Indiana Pacers vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder, nobody is trying to see that.

Personally, I’ve been bored as hell. Give me LeBron’s Lakers vs. Jalen’s Knicks, and I’m good.