Opponents last weekend, Lakers and Warriors made the crowds click. According to the NBA, nearly 4 million people were in front of their screens to watch the game, one of the best audiences in recent years in the NBA.
Even without LeBron James on the court, the match between the Lakers and the Warriors was able to attract the curiosity of NBA fans. According to the League itself, the ABC channel’s Sunday night poster drew nearly 3.95 million viewers. This is the best audience for a regular season game in 4 years, if we exclude the Christmas games.
Sunday’s Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers game on ABC drew the largest non-Christmas regular season NBA audience on any network in four years. pic.twitter.com/S5iTrrYhdK
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) March 7, 2023
How to explain this peak? There is obviously the return of Stephen Curry which comes into play. Absent for several weeks, the Chef was finally able to put his shorts back on and the Dubs fans no doubt wanted to see their darling rekindle the torch. The monstrous performance of Anthony Davis also had to help. There is also the context around the game. The race for the Playoffs is particularly intense in the West and the gap is narrow between the teams virtually qualified for the postseason and those who want to validate the ticket.
Something to add a little spice, especially since the Lakers do not have many jokers at their disposal. It is also difficult to omit the fact that we are talking about two of the most followed teams in the League. Finally, there is the timing of the match: a Saturday at the beginning of the afternoon for the American time zone and in prime time for the Europeans. Not a bad program to keep an eye on while going to the table or to digest quietly on the sofa.
Given the catastrophic audiences of the All-Star Game, Adam Silver must in any case rub his hands when seeing these good figures. The NBA still attracts (a lot of) people.
Source texte : NBA Communications