NBA Suffers Major Blow Amid Thunder-Pacers Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder hold a 3-2 lead over the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals heading into Game 6 on Thursday in Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The series has been intense at times because both teams traded victories throughout the first four games. However, the Thunder took control of the pace in Game 5 to cruise to a comfortable 120-109 win.

However, the solid play hasn’t resulted in excellent TV ratings. According to television analyst and writer Clay Travis, “Fewer people are watching the NBA Finals through five games than have watched since before the [Larry Bird] and [Magic Johnson] entered the league.”

The league has historically had solid ratings since the mid-to-late 1980s, when superstars such as Bird, Johnson and Michael Jordan were among the top players playing in the finals. Furthermore, ratings for Game 6 of the 1993 Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns were 20.3, and in Game 7 of the 1988 Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons, ratings were as high as 21.2, according to sportmediawatch.com.