National Basketball Association

Cavaliers-Warriors Game 7 drew an eye-popping Nielsen rating

Published Jun. 20, 2016 12:11 p.m. ET

foxsports

Sunday night’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals did some big business in the TV ratings department.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ 93-89 win over the Golden State Warriors earned an 18.9 overnight rating among metered households, making it ABC’s highest-rated NBA broadcast ever, according to Nielsen. The Lakers-Celtics Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals was ABC’s previous best, at 18.2, since taking over broadcast rights in 2002.

Final Nielsen numbers will be out later Monday, but Cavs-Warriors is unlikely to top the 22.9 rating drawn by Game 6 of the Bulls-Jazz NBA Finals in 1998, which holds the record for any college or pro basketball game, according to Sports Media Watch. Rockets-Knicks in 1994 is the highest-rated Game 7 NBA Finals contest at 20.2.

The Cavs-Warriors 18.9 overnight rating is the highest-rated non-NFL or Olympic sporting event since the Florida-Ohio State 2007 BCS national championship game drew a 19.1, according to SMW.