Usually a quiet, forgettable affair, the final night of the NBA regular season delivered big numbers for ESPN and ESPN2.
The Grizzlies/Warriors NBA regular season game earned a 2.7 overnight rating on ESPN Wednesday night, the highest for a non-Christmas regular season game on the network since Cavaliers/Bulls at the beginning of last season (3.1). Keep in mind the ESPN broadcast was blacked out in the Bay Area.
Airing in the same telecast window on ESPN2, Jazz/Lakers had a 2.6 overnight — the highest ever for a regular season game on that network. Including playoffs, it tied the second-best mark behind a Blazers/Spurs second round game in 2014 (2.7).
The Warriors’ record-setting 73rd win of the season and Kobe Bryant‘s final game of his career combined for approximately a 5.3 overnight, which would rank as the highest for a single regular season window on cable since 2010 — when LeBron James‘ first game with the Miami Heat had a 5.6 on TNT.
(Wed. numbers via Twitter)
