NBA Finals ratings up from 2020 pandemic, down from 2019

The NBA Finals has gained some, but not all of its audience back after last year's trip to the pandemic bubble

NEW YORK -- The NBA Finals has gained some, but not all, of its audience back after last year's trip to the pandemic bubble. The first three games of the championship match between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks averaged just about 9 million viewers, the Nielsen company said. That's up 41% from the 6.38 million who watched the first three games of last year's series between the L.A. Lakers and Miami Heat. The 2000 series was held in the odd time of late September and October and played without live audiences due to COVID-19 restrictions. This year's series is close to normal in timing, and live audiences have returned. Compared to the pre-COVID 2019 series where Toronto beat Golden State, this year's audience is down 34%, Nielsen said.