When the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers face off, the eyes of the basketball world are glued to the screen, especially when both teams are championship contenders, as was the case during their recent Thursday night matchup. According to Jon Lewis from Sports Media Watch, Golden State’s 123-116 victory in Los Angeles attracted one of the largest audiences of the NBA season.
Thursday’s Warriors-Lakers matchup averaged 2.5 million viewers across TNT and truTV, marking a 70% increase from last year’s Nuggets-Clippers game, which had 1.5 million viewers. This game ranked as the second most-watched NBA game on cable this season, excluding Opening Night. When factoring in broadcast network ABC, which dominates the ratings with 16 of the top 20 audiences this season, it stands at 18th place overall.
Golden State’s win significantly outperformed the previous meeting between the two teams this season, which occurred on trade deadline night and averaged 1.84 million viewers (also on TNT). Excluding Opening Night, it was the most-viewed TNT game featuring LeBron James and Stephen Curry since 2019.
This surge in viewership isn’t surprising; James and Curry are among the greatest draws in NBA history. Earlier in the season, games involving either team were buoyed by the star power of these two icons, even as neither appeared to be genuine championship threats. However, the trade deadline acquisitions of Luka Dončić in Los Angeles and Jimmy Butler in Golden State have revitalized both teams.
Encouraging news for the league’s broadcasters also stems from the NBA standings. Following Thursday’s game, the Lakers and Warriors occupy the fourth and fifth seeds, respectively, in the Western Conference. With both teams having six games left on their schedules and the standings being closely contested, should these rankings remain, the Lakers and Warriors would clash in the first round of the playoffs—an enticing prospect for the NBA’s broadcasting partners.
