Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) and forward LeBron James (23). Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

NBA's midseason shakeup yielding 25-year high in ratings

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Apr 23, 2025 9:34 AM ET

The NBA is the healthiest it's been in decades when it comes to parity, and the high quality of competition is bringing in the eyeballs.

According to Colin Salao of Front Office Sports, the opening weekend of the 2025 NBA playoffs averaged 4.4 million viewers across eight games, making it the most-watched postseason in 25 years. The numbers mark a 17% increase from last year's postseason, per the league.

The two most-watched games both aired on ABC, with the Celtics-Magic contest averaging 6.69 million viewers on Easter Sunday and the Lakers-Timberwolves game pulling in 5.84 million on Saturday. Those numbers were a reminder of why the Lakers and Celtics, the sport's most storied franchises, remain the most popular among fans in the United States.

The opening weekend of the NBA Playoffs drew 4.4 million viewers, the most-watched in 25 years and +17% vs. last year.

Most-watched game: Magic vs. Celtics on ABC (6.69M)
❗️4.49M on ABC/ESPN (6 games), highest ever.
4.13M on TNT/truTV/Max (2 games), +23% vs. 2024.
— Colin Salao (@colincsalao) April 22, 2025

Trade deadline saved the NBA season?

The NBA saw a steep decline in viewership during the first half of the regular season. However, those numbers saw a massive turnaround after a record eight All-Stars were moved (63 overall) ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. The Lakers benefited the most from the reshuffling, with their games seeing a surge in viewership and attendance after acquiring superstar Luka Doncic.

Ultimately, the NBA saw a 2% dip in regular-season viewership, but those numbers would have been a lot worse if not for the midseason shakeup.

During his appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" last week, NBA commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged that the Doncic and Jimmy Butler midseason trades reignited interest in the product.

"Post All-Star [break], the ratings picked up a lot," Silver said. "In fact, to end up down just 2% for the season from where we came from, the rating had to be up significantly... A bunch of things happened that generated a lot of interest... It's remarkable how much interest there has been in this [Doncic] trade — maybe it's because of the Lakers."

To Silver's point, Doncic's return game in Dallas drew the largest non-Christmas viewership this season. The Slovenian wearing the Purple and Gold colors has also sparked a lot of global interest, given that the Lakers' popularity extends beyond the U.S.

If the Lakers reach the NBA Finals, it shouldn't come as a surprise if the league enjoys more highs in viewership.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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