The Nets lost a heartbreaker to open their first-round series with the Celtics on Easter Sunday, and a historically large audience was tuned in to watch Jayson Tatum crush Brooklyn’s hopes of a 1-0 series lead.
Per NBA PR, Sunday’s series opener was the most-viewed first-round game since 2016, averaging 6.9 million viewers while peaking at 9.8 million.
In total, the opening weekend of the playoffs was the NBA’s most-viewed since 2011, averaging 4.05 million viewers. But the Nets/Celtics matchup was the clear driver in those numbers, between the intrigue of Kyrie Irving’s return to Boston and the star-power presence of Tatum and Kevin Durant.
If the series continues with the level of excitement that game one carried, those numbers will likely continue to climb.
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