Projecting 2025 Thunder-Pacers TV Ratings: NBA Finals Viewership Trends

By Christopher Boan Jun 2nd, 2025 9:37 PM EDT

Tap for Promo Visit site

Bet $10, Get $150 If You Win
Promo Code: BOOKIESBG150

Used 24 Times Today

Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Must be 21+ to participate. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (CO, DC, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY) Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS, NV), 1-800-327-5050 (MA), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI). Visit BetMGM.com for T&Cs. US promotional offers not available in NY, NV, or Puerto Rico.

The Oklahoma City Thunder is in the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years and the Indiana Pacers are there for the first time in 25 years.

Bookies.com, where you’ll find NBA betting tips for OKC-Indiana, looked at TV market size rankings and NBA Finals viewership numbers over the past 25 years to compile this list of the most (and least) watched league final series this century. We then project numbers for the 2025 NBA Finals.

NBA Finals Viewership and Market Size

*Value for Toronto is 1 because it’s the biggest TV market in Canada.

 @Projected viewership for 2025 NBA Finals.

Tap for Promo Visit site

Bet $10, Get $150 If You Win
Promo Code: BOOKIESBG150

Used 9 Times Today

Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Must be 21+ to participate. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (CO, DC, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY) Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS, NV), 1-800-327-5050 (MA), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI). Visit BetMGM.com for T&Cs. US promotional offers not available in NY, NV, or Puerto Rico.

Projected viewership for 2025 NBA Finals

Bookies.com has sports betting app reviews as well as NBA analysis. These numbers are listed by the highest average viewership throughout the series, regardless of the number of games, according to Nielsen ratings. Market size data comes from their list of top 210 Designated Market Areas (DMAs) as of 2024-25 Nielsen rankings.

Tap for Promo Visit site

Bet $1, Double Your Winnings Your Next 10 Bets
Promo Code: BOOKIESDYW

Used 18 Times Today

•

Popular in New Jersey

Must be 21+ to participate. T&Cs apply.

How Many Will Watch 2025 NBA Finals?

It’s worth noting that star power reigns supreme when it comes to viewership for the NBA Finals (and it helps boost sports betting interest too).

The 10 most viewed NBA Finals series since 2000 almost all have a common thread, regardless of whether the cities involved are large or smaller: Players such as LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal have led people to watch.

Six of the seven least-watched series have come since 2019 (including the 2020 COVID-19 bubble series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat).

Given that the past five non-COVID NBA Finals have combined to draw 60.4 million in average TV viewership (12.08 million per year), we project that the 2025 series between the Thunder and Pacers will hit that number next month. Keep track of NBA odds throughout the series at Bookies.com.

Tap for Promo Visit site

Bet $30, Get $300 in Bonus Bets

Used 58 Times Today

•

Popular in New Jersey

21+. New customers in AZ, CO, IN, LA, MA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, TN, VA and WV. You must place a $10+ Qualifying Wager with odds of -500 or longer each day, starting the day you register to be eligible to receive $100 in Bonus Bets (“Rewards”) each day for your first three (3) days. Your Rewards in the form of Bonus Bets will be issued within 72 hours of your Qualifying Wager settling, and will expire in 7 days from issuance. Not available in NY. Terms apply- see Fanatics Sportsbook app. Gambling Problem? Call or Text 1-800-GAMBLER, 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-888-532-3500 (VA).

If the 2025 NBA Finals average 12.08 million viewers over the course of the series, it would represent a 6.8% year-over-year improvement from the 2024 final between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. That one averaged 11.31 million viewers, ranking 21st out of 25 series since the dawn of the 21st century. It’s also worth noting that the increased popularity of streaming has affected TV numbers.

An average viewership of just over 12 million per game for Pacers vs. Thunder would rank 20th out of 26 NBA Finals since 2000. But it would rank well ahead of 2021 (9.91 million viewers), 2023 (11.64 million viewers), and 2024 (11.31 million viewers) and just behind the 12.40 million average viewership figure for the 2022 series between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.

Will league Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder and rising Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton help make up for the absence of proven TV draws such as LeBron and Curry in this year’s NBA Finals? Either way, check out our NBA picks to dig into Bookies.com expert analysis.

Tap for Promo Visit site

Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets INSTANTLY!

Used 39 Times Today

•

Popular in New Jersey

GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Please Gamble Responsibly. 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), or visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD). 21+ and present in most states. (18+ DC/KY/NH/WY). Void in ONT/OR/NH. Eligibility restrictions apply. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & Resort (KS). 1 per new customer. $5+ first-time bet req. Max. $150 issued as non-withdrawable Bonus Bets that expire in 7 days (168 hours). Stake removed from payout. Terms: sportsbook.draftkings.com/promos. Ends 8/3/25 at 11:59 PM ET. Sponsored by DK.

About the Author

Christopher Boan

More About Christopher

Christopher Boan has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, with stops at ArizonaSports.com, Tucson Weekly and Green Valley News.