The NBA Finals viewership figures haven’t been great despite the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder playing spectacular basketball, but the TV ratings are not a concern for Tyrese Haliburton
12:39 ET, 16 Jun 2025Updated 13:36 ET, 17 Jun 2025
Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton doesn’t pay attention to the TV ratings debate around the NBA Finals(Image: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton isn’t interested in the TV ratings debate around the NBA Finals.
Even though both the Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder have been playing thrilling basketball that delivered plenty of drama in the postseason, many worried about the interest in the championship series featuring two small-market teams. Then, early viewership figures suggested that the concerns were justified.
Indiana and Oklahoma City have been trading blows for most of the Finals, but the first three games averaged 8.95 million viewers, a 23 percent decline from the 2024 matchup between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. Game 3 saw an uptick in the TV ratings, though, delivering an average audience of 9.19 million and peaking at 11.54 million at 11 p.m.
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However, Haliburton doesn’t pay attention to the TV ratings updates. “I do not care, to be honest with you,” the two-time All-Star said ahead of Game 5.
“This is high-level basketball, and I’m excited to be a part of it. So, I mean, I couldn’t care less.” Thunder guard Alex Caruso shared the sentiment, although he admitted that he would love to be celebrating the title already rather than see the series tied at 2-2.
Asked about his thoughts on the competitive start to the Finals, Caruso quipped, “Good for y’all. Good for me would be getting ready for a parade right now.”
The Pacers-Thunder series saw a 23 percent decline in TV ratings over the first three games compared to the 2024 NBA Finals matchup between the Boston Cetlics and Dallas Mavericks
Caruso continued: “From the outside perspective, it’s great for the league and great for basketball. I think these two teams play stylistically the best versions of basketball right now as far as pressuring and being influencing and aggressive on defense, causing turnovers, making stuff hard.
“And offensively, free flowing, shot making, passing the ball, playing fast, getting out on the break. Those are the ways that people talk about traditional basketball and wanting to not have it not just be coming down, shooting a bunch of threes and give up open layups.
“The two teams play a great brand of basketball, and I think that’s probably what’s contributed to, like you said, a fun series so far.”
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Even though the Pacers suffered a rough loss in Game 4 after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s late heroics allowed Oklahoma City to snatch the win from their hands, Haliburton said the opportunity to fight back keeps him going instead of dampening his mood. “I feel great,” the Indiana playmaker said.
“It’s the best part about playoff series, is when you get the chance to respond. I think that’s the great thing about sports. You’re going to have good games. You’re going to have bad games. But there’s nothing like the game to respond.
“I look forward to doing that with this group, coming out and competing. We’ve got to be ready for a really big challenge that lies ahead with this team and in this environment. So I’m really looking forward to doing that with my teammates and seeing how we respond.”
The Pacers and Thunder have managed to captivate NBA fans on social media though, setting a new engagement record through the first three games with more than 1.5 billion views globally, according to Videocities.