The unprecedented comeback that the New York Knicks completed against the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden to take a 3-1 lead, in the fourth game of the Finals, is already the most viral game on social networks in the history of the NBA, as announced by the league. The game, which marked the greatest comeback of all time in an NBA Finals after New York recovered after being down 29 points in the second half, generated more than 3 billion views in just over 24 hours.
The fourth game of the 2026 NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs managed to remain the number one trend in the world for eight straight hours on X (formerly Twitter), in addition to becoming the most viewed summary of an NBA game in the history of YouTube. The data comes from the Israeli company Ripple Analytics, specialized in data analysis on social networks.
These finals, on par with those of Jordan’s time
These Finals are also the most watched on television since 1998, when Michael Jordan won his last ring with the Chicago Bulls against the Utah Jazz. The television channels with the rights to broadcast the Finals in the United States, ABC and ESPN, recorded more viewers than ever in their broadcasts of the NBA Finals throughout the series.
The Finals of this 2026 have grown by 123%, more than double compared to 2025, when the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers faced each other. Google searches related to the NBA Finals, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs are also at the highest levels in history.
