NBA In-Season Tournament championship game viewership soars with Pacers vs. Lakers
Last Saturday's finals of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, which featured the Indiana Pacers and the Los Angeles Lakers, brought in big ratings.
According to a release from ESPN, the Pacers-Lakers game averaged 4.58 million viewers on ABC and ESPN2. Nielsen noted that the game was the most-watched non-Christmas NBA contest during the regular season on any network since February 2018.
Viewership peaked at 5.68 million viewers at 11 p.m. ET. While Indiana kept it competitive until late, Los Angeles won the championship game 123-109.
It was up 46% vs. last year's NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC season debut which featured the Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors. ESPN also said the championship game was up 64% from last season's NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC average.
Pacers vs. Pistons: Bennedict Mathurin passes like Tyrese Haliburton, scores like himself in win
The traditional broadcast of the game aired on ABC and an alternate presentation called NBA Unplugged with Kevin Hart aired on ESPN2. That show made up nearly 10% of the overall audience in its debut.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Lakers: NBA In-Season Tournament final scores big ratings
