Despite a slight downtick in this year’s NBA regular-season ratings, the numbers showed the Lakers and Warriors—and their respective stars LeBron James and Steph Curry—remained the league’s best draw.

The most-watched game of the season was the Christmas Day game between the Warriors and Lakers, which drew 7.9 million viewers on ABC. It was also the league’s most-watched regular-season game in five years. 

The Jan. 25 meeting was also the second-most-watched non-Christmas Day game of the season (3 million), behind the March 8 game between the Lakers and Celtics, the league’s most storied rivalry. But the Jan. 25 game was missing some starpower—Luka Dončić and Jimmy Butler—All-Star midseason acquisitions of Los Angeles and Golden State, respectively. 

Some of the most-watched games exclusively on cable also included the Lakers. Their season opener against the Timberwolves, the NBA debut of Bronny James Jr., was the second-most-watched game on TNT this season. Excluding opening night games, Dončić’s first game against the Mavericks on Feb. 25 was the most-watched TNT game this year (2.5 million), while his return to Dallas on April 9 was the most-watched game on ESPN. 

Potential Semis Meeting

Golden State’s loss to the Clippers on Sunday shut the door on a potential first-round series against Los Angeles, but their Play-In Tournament win over the Grizzlies on Tuesday means both teams could meet in the second round.

The Lakers are favorites to beat the Timberwolves (-196), while the Warriors are favored over the Rockets (-188), according to FanDuel, despite not having home-court advantage.

A second-round series would do wonders for the NBA. The two teams battled in 2023, and averaged 7.8 million viewers, the most-watched semis in 27 years. It would also guarantee that either the Lakers or the Warriors would make the conference finals.

James, Curry, and Dončić were also the most-viewed players of the season on social media, respectively. The same three players had the most popular jerseys of the season, though Dončić led the way, followed by Curry, then James.

​​Buffalo’s KeyBank Center, home of the National Hockey League’s Sabres and National Lacrosse League’s Bandits, has become a sports facility hot potato that nobody wants.

The 29-year-old venue is currently owned by Erie County and operated by the Sabres, but county officials are saying they do not intend to retain ownership when the current lease expires next year. That could revert the building’s ownership to the city of Buffalo, which holds the property on which the arena sits, but similarly says it does not have the budget to keep up with maintenance and liability costs. 

“I don’t think we should. I don’t think that’s in our purview,” said acting Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon, of taking on full building ownership. “I think we continue to work with our partners, Erie County, the Sabres, to make sure that the arena is there for years to come and a great experience for residents.”

The arena ownership debate highlights a confluence of issues surrounding the Sabres. KeyBank Center is badly in need of extensive renovations—due to both its age compared to many other NHL venues and the constant wear from Buffalo winters—while the Sabres are concluding their 14th straight non-playoff season, tied with the NFL’s Jets for the longest active postseason drought in U.S. major men’s pro sports.

Team owner Terry Pegula, meanwhile, has a series of other active concerns, including ownership of the NFL’s Bills and the Bandits. The Bills are building a new stadium in suburban Orchard Park, but are soaring over budget in that project, with the facility now costing more than $2 billion and recently requiring Pegula to get a debt limit waiver from the NFL to borrow additional funds. 

The Bandits, meanwhile, are the defending NLL champions, are again the top seed in the upcoming playoffs, routinely draw better crowds than the Sabres, and just set a league attendance record. 

The Sabres, however, are not a candidate to move to another city vying for an NHL franchise. Not only is Buffalo still a hockey hotbed, regularly hosting a variety of major youth events in addition to the Sabres, but Pegula’s ownership of the Bills and Bandits makes a move elsewhere for the Sabres essentially untenable. 

“The current lease provides a number of options that will allow us to find a solution for everyone involved that will ensure the long-term success of the Sabres and KeyBank Center,” said team COO Pete Guelli in a statement.