Latest news with #NBAFinals'
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
The NBA brilliantly spun the NBA Finals' low TV ratings into a win
The NBA brilliantly spun the NBA Finals' low TV ratings into a win So far, the 2025 NBA Finals are on track to be one of the league's least-watched championship series this century. Of course, I'm only stating a fact. I'm not saying any NBA fan should actually care about low TV ratings, because you shouldn't. You don't work for the NBA. Watch the games or don't. It doesn't mean a tangible thing to you. But even as fewer people tune into the Oklahoma City Thunder's and Indiana Pacers' battle on the NBA's biggest stage, the league has already found a brilliant way to spin its "smaller" television audience. Is it true that, on average, fewer people are watching these Finals than normal? Yes. Absolutely. According to NBA PR, however, that doesn't change the fact that both Game 1 and Game 2 were easily the most-watched programs in all of television since the start of May. Oh, and for those tracking young people's attention spans, almost half of everyone aged 18-34 who watched TV during the runtimes of Game 1 and Game 2 were actually watching the Finals. Throw in some massive social media engagement, and it sure seems like concerns about the NBA Finals' low TV ratings have been overblown. That, or the NBA's PR just really knows how to spin good news: These are legitimately praiseworthy bullet points about the NBA's success with its current championship series. I'm not sure how the NBA came to these concrete conclusions, especially with streaming involved, and most major television networks and platforms not really running their best shows in the spring and summer. Still, these numbers are eye-opening. From my vantage point, it sure seems like the league is a lot healthier than some people want to believe
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lil Wayne's First ‘Tha Carter VI' Track Featured in an NBA Finals Campaign
The first public glimpse of Lil Wayne's upcoming Tha Carter VI album will be heard on ESPN. 'The Days,' a collaboration between the iconic rapper (and May Rolling Stone cover star) and U2's Bono, is the theme song of the NBA Finals' promotional ad for the first day of the championship series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers. The network has previously played his 'I Am Not a Human Being,' 'Uproar,' and 'Glory' tracks in the playoffs. In the NBA Finals ad, highlights of both teams are interspersed with Wayne rapping bars like, 'live to fight another day if yesterday beat me, cause I ain't gettin' younger, but I'm gettin' better' while Bono sings, 'these are the days.' More from Rolling Stone Here's Where to Score Last-Minute NBA Finals Tickets Online Escaped Inmate Asks Lil Wayne, NBA YoungBoy, Meek Mill for Help Lil Wayne Celebrates Over 20 Years of 'Tha Carter' With New Tour 'Basketball's been in my blood since day one, so to team up with ESPN less than 24 hours before the drop of Tha Carter VI for the NBA Finals is an incredible honor,' Wayne, who just announced a North American tour, says about the campaign. 'My music and the NBA are vibin' on the same frequency because it's perfect timing for fans to hear Tha Carter VI on the game's grandest stage.' The campaign is yet another intersection of sports and music for the avid sports fan and co-founder of Young Money APAA Sports Agency, which represents several NBA players. Tha Carter VI is Wayne's 14th studio album, and the first since 2023's Welcome 2 ColleGrove with 2 Chainz. Wayne played Rolling Stone songs from the project in January, including 'The Days,' an introspective track where he reflects on his life and times. He told Rolling Stone that the project is collaboration-oriented, noting, 'If there's one thing about this album that's different, it's me approaching it like, 'Man, what would I sound like on something with such and such.'' He'll be celebrating Tha Carter VI's launch with the ESPN campaign as well as his first headlining concert at Madison Square Garden on Friday, the album's release date. 'Lil Wayne brings the energy, edge, and emotion that define the NBA Finals,' said Curtis Friends, Vice President of Sports Marketing at ESPN. 'Integrating his music into our NBA Playoffs coverage has been a strategic brand flex – amplifying our storytelling and connecting with fans as we showcase today's rising stars on the league's biggest stage.' Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Trendlines: The smallest markets are winning the NBA finals
Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers is defended by Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter in Game One of the 2025 NBA Finals. -Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what's trending up and what's trending down in sports. This week we're talking about the NBA Finals, and the emergence of the small market team. Think about the iconic NBA franchises: The Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and, if you indulge me, the New York Knickerbockers. Advertisement This NBA Finals features two nicknames to never win an NBA title: the Thunder and Pacers. These two teams are from not-so-iconic American cities: Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. So let's start there with a big downswing. Trending down – The combined size of the home media markets for NBA finals' teams: Down 3 million homes from 2024 I'm being a bit charitable here with being down 3 million. I've rounded down. Indianapolis has a little over 1 million homes in its media market. Oklahoma City has well under a million. Combined they have a little less than 2 million homes. What a change from 2024 when the Finals teams (Boston and Dallas) each have over 2 million homes in their media markets. Advertisement But it's not just from last year from which we've seen a tremendous shift. Indeed, I plugged in the current media market size for every Finals team since the early 1980s. Based on the current rankings, this is the Finals with the smallest teams' media markets in at least the last 40 years. Trending down – The average NBA Finals' team worth: Down $1.4 billion from 2024 It's not just the media markets where we can see how the Pacers and Thunder are small markets. Take a look at the valuation for each franchise. Both teams are worth under $4 billion. Now, that is still a billion with a 'b', but last year the two teams were worth about $5 billion on average. Advertisement The fact that we have one small market team in the Finals isn't that unusual. Both of these teams have been in the finals before. What makes this year truly unique is that we have two teams worth so little at the same time. In fact, there hasn't been an NBA Finals' with two teams in the bottom 10 in the league in terms of worth since at least the early 1990s. Trending up – Players under the age of 25 on NBA finals' teams: Up 2 players from 2024 Small market doesn't mean unexciting. Tyrese Haliburton ridiculously clutch shooting in Game 1 proves that. What makes Haliburton's production so amazing is he was still 24 on February 1 of this year. He's one of 18 players who have suited up for these squads who were under 25 on that date. Advertisement That's a record since at least the early 1980s These are young and fresh players beyond just Haliburton. Thunder's star Jalen Williams clocks in at a mere 24 years old. His teammate Chet Holmgren is 23. We're looking at squads that could be good for years to come. Dare I say that, by the time it's all done, it may be Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Lakers… and Pacers or Thunder on the pantheon of iconic NBA teams. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why Pacers' Aaron Nesmith is ready for SGA after Jalen Brunson battle
The post Why Pacers' Aaron Nesmith is ready for SGA after Jalen Brunson battle appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Indiana Pacers defeated Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks in a six-game series in the Eastern Conference finals. Brunson was the third straight All-Star that Aaron Nesmith had to guard in the playoffs. However, the Pacers are in for their biggest test yet against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. Advertisement Gilgeous-Alexander won his first MVP award this season and led the Thunder to 80 wins heading into the Finals. The league's leading scorer dominated in the regular season and playoffs as Oklahoma City navigated their way through the Western Conference. His offensive prowess earned praise from Nesmith ahead of Game 1 on Thursday night. Nesmith talked to ClutchPoints Tomer Azarly at the NBA Finals' media day. He explained that Gilgeous-Alexander and Brunson are both excellent offensive players. 'They're both great individual scorers and talented players,' Nesmith said. 'They know how to use their body to draw fouls, get into you, get their space, and get to the mid-range jumpers. So there are a lot of similarities between them.' Advertisement Nesmith also touched on his approach to guarding his opponents, saying that he takes pride in being a tenacious defender. 'I just think it's a want factor,' Nesmith said. 'Taking pride in guarding your yard, watching film, getting better individually, and just sit down and be like, 'they're not gonna score on me…' I think it's a mindset. I'm not gonna be screened, I'm gonna fight through, and I'm gonna make his life very hard for these 48 minutes.' Rick Carlisle's defensive approach has worked wonders so far this postseason. However, he has not faced this version of the Thunder yet. In both of Oklahoma City's matchups against Indiana, Chet Holmgren was out with injury. Now that he is back, there is even more pressure on Nesmith and the Pacers' defense to stand strong. Advertisement One of the biggest stories heading into Game 1 of the NBA Finals is the condition of Nesmith's knee. The Pacers guard injured it in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals and was not the same for the rest of the series. Slowing Gilgeous-Alexander down demands a great effort from a team's perimeter defenders. Nesmith is a key piece to the puzzle for Carlisle and the Pacers. While the Pacers are big underdogs in the championship round, they are as well prepared as anyone. Nesmith spent a series chasing Brunson around the court, and is likely to split time with Andrew Nembhard guarding the MVP of the league. Related: Pacers' Myles Turner gives Pascal Siakam his flowers before NBA Finals Related: How Pascal Siakam's 6-year journey paved road to Pacers' NBA Finals
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
SFU's McConnell excited for family's success
LORETTO, PA (WTAJ) — Saint Francis basketball coach Luke McConnell laughs thinking about the message he sent his cousin T.J. after the Indiana Pacers won the Eastern Conference Finals. 'I literally think my text was, 'Dude, you're in the NBA Finals' and he's like, 'I know, right?' Like crazy.,' he recalls. Luke is in his first season as head coach at his alma mater, Saint Francis University. His cousin T.J. has played in the NBA for a decade and Thursday made his NBA Finals debut. It's a moment the two used to practice as kids. 'We would cut our dad's dress socks and wear the sleeve like Allen Iverson. Just kids who loved watching basketball loved the NBA,' he said. 'Playing ten, nine, eight where, you know, there's 10 seconds left in game seven… So to go from that to see what he's been able to accomplish is, is really fun.' Luke grew up in Blair County, T.J. in Pittsburgh. The sons of basketball coaches they spent a lot of their summers going back and forth from camp to camp, learning basketball together. 'Our dads each had basketball camps, so we would each go back and forth to our dad's basketball camps, you know, going to Pittsburgh, coming back to Hollidaysburg, playing in the driveway to see where he's come from. That it's surreal in a way,' said Luke. Since the driveway, T.J. has balled at Arizona, then with the Sixers and in 2019 he joined the Pacers where he's been a steady presence off the bench and leader in the locker room. 'I want a lot of us to know how hard it is to get here. But the job's not done. You know, we have four more wins, and we've got to focus on that,' said T.J. during the NBA Finals media day. '(It) never ceases to amaze us what he's able to accomplish,' said Luke. 'So for him to reach the finals, literally the biggest stage in basketball is, it's unbelievable to think about, but not surprising at the same time with what he's been able to do.' The McConnells are basketball royalty in Pittsburgh. Luke coaches Saint Francis, the same school his dad coached at. T.J. is with the Pacers, his dad Tim is a WPIAL coaching legend, and his sister Megan just made her WNBA debut. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
