This Was The Most Watched NBA Finals Since Michael Jordan’s Last Title In Chicago

The Warriors put the finishing touches on a 16-1 postseason with a 129-120 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night at Oracle Arena to earn their second championship in three years. Throughout the playoffs, the Warriors bludgeoned the opposition and rolled to the title, with the Cavaliers providing the sternest test of all four series, but still lacking the firepower to contend with Golden State.

For much of the playoffs, people complained about the lack of competition. People wondered whether the dominance of the Warriors and Cavs in their conferences was bad for basketball. Folks hoped that the two would clash in another classic like a year ago, but although the Finals were more competitive than the conference playoffs, three of the five games provided little-to-no drama. That didn’t stop people from tuning in, though.

ESPN reported that the series-clinching Game 5, which was competitive until the final minutes, was the most watched Game 5 of an NBA Finals since 1998, when Michael Jordan’s Bulls played the Jazz on his way to a sixth and final championship.

This year’s Finals also topped last year as being the most watched since 1998, despite this year only going five games rather than seven.

Last year’s series certainly helped this year’s series get the ratings it did, as those that would normally tune it out after two dominant wins by the Warriors stuck around to see if the Cavs could pull off the impossible yet again. Cleveland gave it a great effort, but came up short. The Warriors proved to be the juggernaut we all assumed they would be, and millions tuned in to see their dominance. We’ll have to wait until next year to see whether the people stick around to watch again if things stay the same in Golden State and Cleveland.