It is no secret that the Pacers-Thunder NBA Finals has been something less than a ratings bonanza. The first five games averaged 9.18 million viewers, the worst five-game average for the Finals in the Nielsen people meter era (1988-present), save for Lakers-Heat in the fall 2020 “bubble” — a months-delayed, fanless, neutral site series that had to compete with the NFL, the election, and a presidential hospital stay.

Pacers-Thunder has thus far averaged about the same audience as the 2023 Rangers-Diamondbacks World Series — an infamously low-rated matchup that averaged 9.11 million for its full five-game run — and that is despite Nielsen expanding its out-of-home viewership sample earlier this year.

What has been particularly notable about this NBA Finals has been the lack of any meaningful growth from game to game. Most championship series start out at a certain level for the first four games before picking up in Game 5. Last year’s NBA Finals grew 27 percent from Game 4 (9.62M) to Game 5 (12.22M). Two years ago, it was a 26 percent jump (from 10.41 to 13.08M). Three years ago, a more modest eight percent bump (from 12.06 to 13.03M).

This year? Try one percent, from 9.41 to 9.54 million.

The growth in viewership from Game 1 to Game 5 has been seven percent, the lowest since — of all years — 2016. That, of course, was the last NBA Finals to go the full seven games until this year.

Seventh Heaven

Where can you go when the world don’t treat you right? The answer is Game 7.

There are plenty of examples in recent history of a Game 7 salvaging an otherwise low-rated series. Just look at last year’s Stanley Cup Final, which went from averaging 3.6 million through six games to 7.7 million in the seventh. Or the World Series, which in both 2014 and 2019 avoided record lows because of a seventh game. In the NBA, one could go back to Spurs-Pistons in 2005, a series that was barely outpacing Spurs-Nets two years earlier until it went the distance — or Rockets-Knicks in 1994, which was overshadowed by O.J. Simpson and the impetus for a Sports Illustrated cover pronouncing the NBA “not” hot.

In none of these cases did Game 7 transform the series into a ratings hit, but it provided a positive note on which to end the season — and made the overall average look a bit more respectable.

But it should be noted that those game sevens took place in a different era of television. Can one be certain that a Game 7 will attract the kind of casual audience that has thus far spurned this series? Certainly, last year’s Stanley Cup Game 7 seems to point in that direction, growing its audience by more than 80 percent over Game 6. Assuming viewership for this year’s NBA Game 6 finished around the same level as Game 5 (those figures will not be out until Monday), an 80 percent increase would mean an audience of about 17.5 million, which to be frank seems a touch out of reach for this series — and the NBA generally in 2025.

Since 2019 — and really more accurately since March 11, 2020 — the NBA has been unable to hit the heights that had been commonplace throughout the 2010s. In an era of seven different NBA champions in as many years, there was never any chance that the NBA would be able to sustain the audience it attracted during LeBron James’ run of eight-straight NBA Finals (half of which were against Stephen Curry). Nevertheless, even a pessimist in 2019 would not have predicted that the league would go through the first half of the decade without a single game getting to the 14 million mark. (Warriors-Celtics Game 6 in 2022 came to within a hair with 13.99 million.)

Even before getting its golden Yankees-Dodgers World Series last year, Major League Baseball had gotten to the 14 million mark once with Game 6 of Braves-Astros in 2021 — a matchup that sounds like an NLDS rather than a World Series. Four of the five least-watched NCAA men’s basketball national title games have occurred this decade, but they all topped 14 million. The Kentucky Derby gets to that level with relative ease, and while it has the advantage of a shorter runtime than an NBA game, few would argue that horse racing is in the same neighborhood as the NBA in terms of popularity.

To be clear, 14 million is not some kind of milestone figure. There is no real ring to it. That it would mark a meaningful superlative for the league — its largest audience in six years — is more an indication of just how difficult it has been for it to hit the high notes in this decade.

There are some milestones that could be in reach. 18.2 million would be the largest men’s basketball audience of this decade. 18.4 million would be the largest pro sports audience, outside of the NFL, in this decade. Nineteen million would be the largest sports audience period — outside of the NFL and Olympics — in this decade. (Go back in time and tell someone in 2019 that a women’s basketball game — Caitlin Clark’s final collegiate contest — holds the top spot.)

It would take an unusually large lift for Game 7 to reach those levels. While Spurs-Pistons in 2005 got to 19 million for its Game 7, no game of that series averaged under ten million — a figure that this year’s series has yet to reach (pending results for Game 6).

If Game 7 is unlikely to give the NBA a leg up on the competition, is a six-year high really all the league can hope for? Not necessarily. Game 7, regardless of the viewership figure, will likely guarantee that this year’s playoff audience surpasses last year, a result that reinforces the importance of series length. Considering the viewership for the series to this point, that is more than a small victory.

Ultimately, there is little Game 7 is going to change about the perception of this series, and of the NBA, as a ratings draw. Even a larger-than-expected Game 7 audience is going to pale in comparison to the halcyon days of LeBron vs. Steph in 2016 (31M), or even to the most recent World Series Game 7 between the Nationals and Astros in 2019 (23M). Simply put, no amount of out-of-home viewing can change the trajectory of linear television viewership, and the young-skewing NBA is perhaps particularly exposed to that erosion.

If one is to believe that the long-term ratings trend matters — and the NBA has 77 billion reasons to cast a skeptical eye toward that argument — this year’s NBA Finals will ultimately be a negative data point. There is no era of the NBA where a Finals matchup of Indiana and Oklahoma City was going to be a ratings hit, but one would have thought going into this series that a well-played, unpredictable matchup could at least get to the ten million mark once in five games.

The counterargument is that the ratings matter less than ever given the state of television, that the league is set for the next 11 years with an unprecedented financial windfall, and that making sure small market teams can compete for a championship is more important than the Finals averaging 20 million viewers again — a viewership figure that, it should be noted, provides no tangible financial benefit for the league or its players.

All true, but it is perhaps meaningful that high-quality basketball involving Oklahoma City and Indiana is trailing a dreadful slog like last year’s Boston-Dallas by double-digits and needs a Game 7 just to get in range of Milwaukee-Phoenix — in July — four years ago. That may not say anything about the financial health of the NBA; it may not be a threat to the league’s business or impact the on-court product; it may not even be the most accurate gauge of popularity in 2025. But it is not insignificant. And it cannot be totally hand-waved away by noting the accelerating decline of television viewership (down 13 percent during the Finals, compared to 6-8 percent a year ago).

As for Game 7, expect the largest NBA audience since 2019. That is not an entirely confident prediction, because the lack of lift throughout this series cannot be completely discounted. An audience in the 13 million range would not be a shock — especially if world events lure viewers to cable news channels — but the expectation here is something in the 14-15 million range.

For each of the other NBA Finals game sevens in the Nielsen people-meter era, viewership rose substantially over Game 6 — 50 percent in 2016 (from 20.7 to 31.0 million), a modest 28 percent in 2013 (from 20.6 to 26.3 million), 57 percent in 2010 (from 18.0 to 28.2 million), 41 percent in 2005 (from 13.5 to 19.0 million) and 53 percent in 1994 (from 17.0 to 26.1 million).

Assuming a Game 6 audience in line with Game 5 (9.5M) and a 50 percent increase, that would put Game 7 just over 14 million.

NBA Finals Game 7: Indiana Pacers at Oklahoma City Thunder (8p Sun ABC, ESPN+): Prediction: 14.97M.

In the last weekend before the dead period starts, Penn State hosted a few prospects for official visits.

This week’s visitors included a 247Sports composite 4-star tight end who included the Nittany Lions in his top-two schools and two other prospects who will announce their college commitments soon.

Here’s a rundown on the last batch of official visitors.

TE Pierce Petersohn

Four-star tight end Pierce Petersohn recently announced his finalists as Penn State and Minnesota. He took a visit to the Golden Gophers earlier this month.

Petersohn is listed as an athlete in the composite, but he’s being recruited as a tight end by Penn State. The Triton High School product is the No. 341 player in the country and No. 3 player in Minnesota.

The blue and white has yet to land a tight end in its 2026 class, but it did also host 4-star Brayden Fogle last weekend. Fogle’s recruitment is wide open, so if the team wants a 2026 tight end soon, Petersohn might be its best shot.

CB Danny Odem

The Nittany Lions are the last official visit 4-star cornerback Danny Odem took this cycle. Nebraska, Clemson, Oklahoma and Ohio State are also in the mix for Odem, and he’s taken official visits with each of his finalists, except the Cornhuskers.

The First Academy prospect is the No. 253 player nationally, No. 22 cornerback and No. 40 player in Florida. He’s slated to make his pledge at 5 p.m. Monday.

Penn State already has three other 2026 cornerback commits in 3-stars Julian Peterson, Jaziel Hart and Amauri Polydor.

DL Cameron Brickle

It’s a four-team race to land 3-star Cameron Brickle between Penn State, Florida State, Ohio State and Maryland. His commitment date is scheduled for June 28.

Brickle, who plays at Florida powerhouse IMG Academy, is the No. 531 player nationally, No. 61 defensive lineman and No. 76 player in his home state.

Three-stars Alexander Haskell and Isaac Chukwurah already make up defensive line coach Deion Barnes’ 2026 class, so Brickle has the chance to be the third commit in the room.

MORE FOOTBALL COVERAGE

According to an NCAA statement, Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Schnall will be suspended for the next two games after today — so he’s out for the remainder of this championship series.

NCAA Playing Rule 5-15 a-4 states that an additional two-game suspension is added to any other penalties for any team personnel who continues to “argue or excessively express themselves with prolonged actions or offensive language after an ejection.”

Matt Schilling, the Chanticleers’ first-base coach, per rule, will face a three-game suspension for his actions.

The former Ohio State head coach has reignited the controversy amid the NCAA’s ongoing investigation, claiming that the Wolverines a had a ‘tremendous’ competitive advantage

Urban Meyer has reaffirmed his stance that the Michigan Wolverines had an unfair advantage on the field as a result of their sign-stealing scandal.

The Big Ten Conference program became embroiled in one of the biggest controversies in college football back in 2023 when it was alleged that assistant coach Connor Stalions was stealing upcoming opponents’ signs – an investigation that is still ongoing more than two years later. The accusations came shortly after Michigan, then coached by Jim Harbaugh, had won that year’s national championship.

In more recent times, the Wolverines have been dealt a crushing blow by Notre Dame after the program swooped to secure the commitment of a top prospect in the 2026 class. It comes five months after the Fighting Irish fell to Ohio State in the 2024 CFP final, yet Meyer has since laid out how difficult it will be for the Buckeyes to win a second consecutive national championship.

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The former college football coach, however, has now reignited Michigan’s sign-stealing controversy, in which the NCAA alleges that Stalions was sending friends and family to opponent’s games to record future opponents’ signs.

When the allegations were made, the Wolverines had not long wrapped up a perfect 15–0 record for the 2022 college football campaign, winning their third consecutive Big Ten championship and 12th national championship in program history.

Stalions was subsequently fired and Harbaugh, who now coaches the Los Angeles Chargers of the NFL, remains under investigation. While the NCAA has never directly banned sign stealing in football, Meyer believes Michigan’s alleged form of advanced scouting was illegal.

Speaking on the Triple Option Podcast, he said: “Everybody needs to understand that when you say signals, there are only a couple signals you can get that fast in real time. Is it a run or a pass? Is that significant? Hell yeah it is — it’s a tremendous advantage.

“It changes the entire technique of your defensive front, linebackers. The second everybody knows it’s a pass, that’s a completely different story. And then the whole right or left, if they know it’s a run to the right or run to the left. And that’s why I understand what the advantages are.”

Meyer added: “Whether other coaches have done that before in the past … I’ve never heard of this before. A lot of this is to be determined on the surface, but is it a competitive advantage to know the signals of your opponents illegally? You got them illegally. Of course it is.”

In response to the allegations, Harbaugh was suspended for three games during the 2023 regular season. Linebackers coach Chris Partridge was also let go once the allegations surfaced, becoming the second to leave after Stalions.

Although the NCAA’s investigation into the alleged sign-stealing is still ongoing, Michigan has already begun planning for any potential outcome by self-imposing a two-game suspension on second-year head coach Sherrone Moore.

The suspension will be handed down during Weeks 3 and 4 as opposed to the first two games of the 2025 season, meaning he will miss the clashes with Central Michigan and Nebraska, rather than New Mexico and Oklahoma.

This is the benefit of a self-imposed ban, with the Wolverines able to choose when their head coach serves the suspension. Judging by their decision, it is clear who the program appears to fancy its chances against without Moore in charge.