Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves averaged just 4.62 million viewers on ESPN on Wednesday, making it the least-watched non-COVID season Western Conference Finals game since 2013.
Oklahoma City’s blowout win was also the least-watched WCF Game 5 since Utah Jazz-Spurs in 2007 (3.94M), falling even below that Lakers-Nuggets series in the 2020 “bubble” (4.99M).
Viewership was down 26 percent compared to Game 5 last season when the Dallas Mavericks closed out the Wolves. The full, five-game Thunder-Timberwolves series averaged 5.59 million, which down 17 percent from last year's series between the Mavericks and Wolves.
The Thunder have one of the NBA's smallest media markets, but their West Finals appearances with a core of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are amongst the most watched in recent history.
