Game 7 of the NBA Finals drew the highest overnight rating for any NBA game since Michael Jordan won his last championship.
The Lakers’ championship-clinching Game 7 win over the Celtics drew an 18.2 overnight rating on ABC Thursday night, up 31% from Pistons/Spurs Game 7 in 2005 (13.9), and the highest overnight rating for any NBA game since Bulls/Jazz Game 6 in 1998 (22.9).
Ratings peaked at a 23.7 from 11:45 PM-12:00 AM ET.
The 18.2 for Game 7 is nearly a full point ahead of the previous post-Jordan high of 17.3 for Pacers/Lakers Game 6 in 2000, and comfortably surpasses ABC’s previous high of 15.4 for Lakers/Pistons Game 5 in ’04.
In a year of massive ratings for sporting events, the 18.2 overnight for Celtics/Lakers is tied with the BCS National Championship Game as the highest for any non-NFL, non-Olympic sporting event in 2010.
Celtics/Lakers topped the final round of The Masters (12.0), the Duke/Butler National Championship Game (16.0) and the Olympic Men’s Hockey Gold Medal Game (17.6).
Again excluding the NFL and the Olympics, the Lakers/Celtics series accounts for five of the ten highest overnight ratings for sporting events in 2010, and two of the top ten dating back to June of last year.
Going back further, Thursday’s game drew a higher overnight than every Major League Baseball game since 2004 (BOS/STL Game 4, 19.7) and every college basketball game since at least 1998 (overnights prior to ’98 were not available). Keep in mind there has not been a Game 7 of the World Series since 2002.
Overall, excluding the NFL, the Olympics and the BCS National Championship Game, Thursday’s game drew the highest overnight for any sporting event since Game 4 of the 2004 World Series.
Despite the huge numbers, Celtics/Lakers finishes behind other Game 7s in the NBA Finals. Knicks/Rockets Game 7 in 1994 drew a 20.2 overnight on NBC, and Pistons/Lakers Game 7 in 1988 drew a 22.1 on CBS.
Game 7 drew a 39.7 rating in Los Angeles, the highest ever for an NBA game on ESPN/ABC in the market. In Boston, the game drew a 33.9, the second-highest for an NBA game on ESPN/ABC in the market.
10 Highest NBA Overnights Since 1998
(ESPN)
