In some of the least surprising news ever, a Game 7 in the NBA Finals on a Thursday night between the Celtics and Lakers drew a record television audience, drawing the league's highest numbers in 12 years.
ABC, which is owned by Walt Disney (DIS: 35.07, 0, 0%), said Thursday night's game drew an overnight rating of 18.2, the highest for the NBA since Michael Jordan's final game as a Chicago Bull in 1998. It also marked a 32% increase over the previous Game 7 in 2005 between the Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs.
The dramatic yet low-scoring conclusion to this year's championship series led to ABC's highest-rated NBA game ever in Los Angeles, with a 39.7 metered market rating. With a rating of 33.9, it was also the second-highest rating in the Boston market since the Celtics won the championship in 2008.