Game 7 of Kings vs. Warriors was most-watched 1st round NBA Playoff game since 1999

The hard-fought seven-game series between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors certainly drew enough viewership to question whether these two teams should face off on Christmas Day.

According to ESPN’s Ben Cafardo, Sunday’s Game 7 between the two Northern California heavyweights brought in an average TV audience of 9.8 million, peaking at 11.9 million viewers at 3:00 PM PST–the start of the fourth quarter.

The Kings vs. Warriors series was the most-watched first-round series ever for the NBA’s Disney platforms (ESPN and ABC).

🏀 Game 7 of the GSW vs. SAC series on ABC – most-watched first round game in 24 years: 9.8M viewers

🏀 First round games across ABC, ESPN, TNT & NBA TV is the most watched in 9 years: 3.4M viewers

🏀 Won the night across all of TV among viewers under 50 on 13 out of 14 nights pic.twitter.com/mJRAqDb35h

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 2, 2023

This isn’t the first time that this seven-game series brought in viewers, as Game 4 of Kings vs. Warriors previously set the mark for the NBA’s most-watched first-round playoff game since 2002.

Game 7 topped Game 4’s mark of 10.4 million viewers thanks to the win-or-go-home aspect of the showdown between these two Western Conference foes. Viewership peaked at 3:00 PM PST once Golden State star guard Stephen Curry was in the midst of his furious run to 50 points–an NBA Game 7 record.

The Warriors pulled out a 120-100 win to eliminate the Kings and move on to the second round for a matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, but one can only hope that the league considers these numbers when it comes to picking Christmas Day games for the 2023-24 regular season schedule.

Will Santa bring Kings fans a Christmas Day rematch against Curry and the Warriors this winter? We’ll find out when the NBA releases its schedule in August.

Sacramento Kings Offseason Schedule

• Thursday, June 22– 2023 NBA Draft
• Friday, June 30– Free Agent negotiating period begins
• Thursday, July 6– Free Agents can begin signing deals
• Friday, July 7–Monday, July 17– NBA Summer League in Las Vegas
• August TBD– 2023-24 NBA regular season schedule release
• September TBD– Sacramento Kings training camp begins

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