Chasing History: Knicks Strike First
On Chasing History presented by Michelob ULTRA, Jalen Brunson leads the Knicks to a 1-0 series lead over the Spurs.
The star power of Victor Wembanyama and Jalen Brunson helped this year’s NBA Finals get off to a huge start in terms of viewership, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the last Finals matchup between LeBron James and Stephen Curry eight years ago.
Game 1 of the Finals matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks averaged nearly 17 million viewers on Wednesday night, up 90% when compared to last season’s Finals Game 1. It was the most-watched Game 1 since 2018, the most recent time James — then of Cleveland — and Golden State’s Curry faced off in the title round.
This past Wednesday's matchup between the @spurs & the @nyknicks was the most-watched #NBAFinals Game 1 since ‘18
🏀 16.93M avg. viewers
🏀 19.63M peak
🏀 Up 90% YoY
Details: https://t.co/kjD9TJvJk9 pic.twitter.com/ToVIBz2BCw— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 5, 2026
Wednesday’s game had a peak audience of 19.63 million viewers around 11 p.m. EDT, which would have been in the fourth quarter of New York’s 105-95 victory.
It was the most-watched Finals Game 1 ever on ABC and the most-watched Finals contest since Game 6 of the 2019 title series between Toronto and Golden State.
ESPN’s coverage of the 2026 NBA Finals on ABC continues with Game 2 tonight (8:30 p.m ET).
NYK (1-0) SAS.
GAME 2.
8:30 PM ET on ABC. https://t.co/fMvHVyNJkl— NBA (@NBA) June 5, 2026
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
