Knicks vs. Spurs Sets NBA Christmas Ratings Landmark

NBA fans must’ve been very good this year, as the five-game Christmas slate, begun with the New York Knicks’ early tilt against the San Antonio Spurs, lived up to the hype and then some.

The NBA released viewership data for its holiday stagings on Thursday, claiming new landmarks in the process: the Knicks and Spurs’ clash that tipped off at 12 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden was said to have averaged 4.91 million viewers, good for the most-watched opener since 2011, when the Knicks and Boston Celtics opened the lockout-shortened campaign.

It was also reported to be a 98 percent improvement over last year’s noon tip-off, which saw the Knicks defeat the Milwaukee Bucks. New York has hosted a game at MSG in the noon slot in each of the last four Christmases.

The Knicks’ latest Christmas excursion, their NBA-record 57th, came down to the wire as Mikal Bridges and Victor Wembanyama did box score battle for four quarters. A 41-point output from Bridges, a season-high in his debut tour as a New Yorker, was enough to successfully counter a 41-point, 18-rebound double-double from Wembanyama as the Knicks prevailed by a 117-114 final.

To be fair, there are several differences between recent slates and Wednesday’s showing: all five games were broadcast on both ESPN and ABC, as the consistent broadcast network coverage expanded the league’s reach. However, the strong ratings and narrow final margins (none of the five Wednesday games were decided my more than 10 points) made it a very Merry Christmas for the NBA, which has been dealing with a holiday invasion from the National Football League.

The primetime matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers was the big winner of the day, averaging 7.76 million viewers to become the most watched NBA regular season game since 2019. Without an NFL game to compete with at night, the 8 p.m. ET tip-off was up 499 percent. Last year’s edition, featuring the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers, had to deal with a football game between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, which some viewed as a potential Super Bowl preview.

Still forced to compete with two NFL games on Netflix (both of which featured one-sided results but earned over 23 million viewers), progress in the afternoon/evening games was not as obvious though still up from last season: the 2:30 tip between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves was up three percent while a division clash between Boston and Philadelphia at 5 p.m. moved up by three.

The clash between the Lakers and Warriors was touted as the headliner of the annual Christmas slate, which is usually staged at 5 or 5:30 p.m. ET. Last year’s equivalent, for example, was a Celtics-Lakers rivalry chapter in Los Angeles. Billed as one of the potential final showdowns between Stephen Curry and LeBron James, the latter’s Lakers won 115-113 thanks to a game-winner from Austin Reaves.

Further history set in the finale, as the Denver Nuggets’ showdown with the Phoenix Suns averaged 3.84 million viewers, a record for the 10:30 p.m. ET slot. The hosting Suns won 110-100.

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