It was a very merry Christmas for the NBA, with impressive viewership and five exciting games. Even with the NFL taking away a piece of the Christmas Day market with its Netflix games, the NBA held its own, with an increased viewership on ABC, ESPN, and other platforms. Let’s break down the numbers.
NBA Holds Its Own With Christmas Viewership Numbers
The Spurs-Thunder game particularly excelled, peaking at 7.4 million viewers, with the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers ranking second in viewership.
The latter is not surprising, considering the impact the Knicks’ success has on the NBA’s popularity. However, the Spurs and Thunder commanding the most views prove the interest level in a potential new rivalry. Plus two superstars on show with Victor Wembanyama and the reigning league MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Despite fierce NFL competition for market share on Christmas, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will be delighted to see the NBA’s numbers increase significantly. The five games averaged 5.5 million viewers. This is a 4% increase from last season. The Spurs and Thunder averaged an impressive 6.7 million views, which was ESPN’s most-watched NBA Christmas game in the time slot since 2017.
The NBA had a very good Christmas Day given the NFL comp. The five games averaged 5.5M viewers, up 4% from 2024.
Spurs-Thunder averaged 6.7M viewers in in the 2:30 p.m. ET window and peaked at 7.4M
That’s ESPN’s most-watched NBA Christmas game in the time slot since 2017.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) December 31, 2025
Over seven million people watched the Spurs topple the OKC Thunder 117-102. The Spurs are fast becoming the OKC Thunder’s nemesis with their third win over them in two weeks. Victor Wembanyama is proving to be a matchup nightmare for the previously unbeatable Thunder.
The New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers in the noon game was a true epic, and it was the second-most-viewed game of the day statistically. The Knicks mounted a furious double-digit fourth-quarter comeback led by Jalen Brunson to edge the contest 126-124. The other standout game was the Nuggets’ overtime win over the Timberwolves, powered by Nikola Jokić’s incredible 56-point triple-double performance.
All in all, according to NBA communications, it was the most-watched Christmas Day for the NBA in 15 years. Over 47 million people in the U.S watched across Disney networks. This is up 45% from last year.
The NBA delivered its most-watched Christmas Day in 15 years. More than 47 million people in the U.S. watched the NBA on Christmas Day across Disney networks – up 45% vs. last year.
(Excludes the 2011-12 season which started on Christmas Day.) pic.twitter.com/evgUQjlYWp
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 31, 2025
According to Yahoo Sports, it was the most-viewed sports brand. Garnering 1.6 billion views across social platforms. This is a big win for the NBA, considering the NFL competed with them for the market share on Christmas Day, with Washington facing Dallas and the Vikings facing the Lions. However, even with the NBA performing relatively impressive numbers, it didn’t come close to the NFL.
NFL and NBA viewership numbers for their Christmas games:
NFL (Netflix, Amazon):
– Cowboys-Commanders: 19.9M
– Lions-Vikings: 27.5M
– Broncos-Chiefs: 21.1MNBA (ESPN, ABC)
– Cavaliers-Knicks: 6.4M
– Spurs-Thunder: 6.7M
– Mavericks-Warriors: 6.1M
– Rockets-Lakers: 5.4M
-… pic.twitter.com/QwY2Zswl3R— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 31, 2025
The Cowboys-Commanders game drew 19.9M viewers. The Lions-Vikings game topped the chart with 27.5M viewers while the Broncos-Chiefs brought 21.1M more on board.
