The National Basketball Association (NBA) solidified its status as a digital entertainment powerhouse in 2025, achieving record-breaking viewership, unveiling its social media kings, and securing a monumental global media rights agreement. This trifecta of success highlights the league's strategic mastery in engaging a worldwide audience beyond the hardwood.
Record-Breaking Finals and a Landmark $77 Billion Media Deal
The 2025 NBA season culminated in a spectacular finale. Game 7 of the Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers on ABC drew a staggering 16.4 million viewers. This made it the most-watched NBA championship decider in the past six years, signaling a massive resurgence in television audience interest.
Building on this momentum, the league executed a masterstroke in global expansion. In October 2025, the NBA signed a colossal 11-year media rights contract with Disney, ABC, and Amazon, valued at a whopping $77 billion. This landmark deal guarantees the NBA a vastly expanded platform to broadcast games, aiming to serve a significantly larger global fanbase. The league's reach was already impressive, as evidenced by an official post on its X account on December 22, 2025, which stated that over 87 million viewers in the United States had watched games across NBC/Peacock, ESPN, Prime Video, and NBA TV—the highest number in 15 years, excluding the 2011-12 season.
NBA's Social Media Royalty: Young Stars Dominate the Views
Understanding that modern fandom thrives online, the NBA leveraged its social media channels to perfection. On December 23, 2025, just two days before Christmas, the league's official X account ignited fan excitement by releasing the list of its ten most-viewed players across all NBA social platforms for the 2025-26 season.
The list is a fascinating mix of enduring legends and explosive new talent:
- Luka Doncic (845 million views): His high-profile trade to the Los Angeles Lakers generated immense buzz, propelling him to the top spot.
- Victor Wembanyama (708 million views): The French prodigy continued to captivate audiences worldwide, securing second place.
- Stephen Curry (703 million views) and LeBron James (641 million views): The veteran superstars remained colossal draws, ranking third and fourth respectively.
The rest of the elite top ten included reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (5th, 496M), Nikola Jokic (6th, 445M), Austin Reaves (7th, 409M), Kevin Durant (8th, 331M), rookie sensation Cooper Flagg (9th, 312M), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (10th, 304M). These staggering numbers were accumulated through the NBA's strategic content mix of game highlights, behind-the-scenes footage, tunnel walks, and direct fan interactions.
A Christmas Day Showcase Featuring the Social Media Elite
In a brilliant scheduling move, the NBA ensured that nine of these top ten social media magnets will be in action on Christmas Day 2025. The league carefully curated a five-game slate, set to air exclusively on ESPN and ABC, transforming the holiday tradition into a 14-hour basketball spectacle.
The marquee matchups are:
- Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
- San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
- Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
This lineup, packed with the league's most digitally popular stars, is a testament to the NBA's understanding that its product extends far beyond the 48 minutes of game time. It is a global, year-round narrative driven by compelling personalities, strategic digital content, and blockbuster events, ensuring its throne as the undisputed king of sports in the social media age.
