Two of the best sides in the NBA played out a thrilling game over the weekend, and it turns out a record-breaking audience tuned in to watch the clash between the Celtics and the Lakers.
For the Lakers, it was a disappointing night at their home arena in Los Angeles. Even LeBron James couldn’t prevent his team from suffering another defeat in what is unravelling into a tough season.
Since then, both sides have lost in midweek, but that game at the weekend made history in the NBA thanks to the massive audience it lured in.
Huge audience tunes in to watch Celtic vs Lakers
American network NBC has now released viewing figures (via NESN) for the past weekend, and it reveals the Celtics vs Lakers game drew an average of 5.6 million viewers on the night.
That’s absolutely huge, obviously, and it makes this the most-watched regular season Sunday night game since 2000. It is also the most-watched regular season game on any night since 2017 (excluding fixtures over Christmas).
As two of the most iconic and popular teams in the sport, with one of the most intense rivalries, it’s not surprising so many fans and neutrals were glued to the action.
Unfortunately, the Lakers will probably wish no one had seen them collapse so dramatically and succumb to an 89-111 defeat. Still, when Jaylen Brown is in this kind of form, there’s very little any team can do to stop him and the Celtics.
Jaylen Brown praised by LeBron James
That masterclass from Brown, in which he registered 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, was enough to see the 29-year-old breach the top ten for 30-point games in a single season. Brown now has 28 games where he has scored 30 or more, putting him level with Jayson Tatum’s tally from 2024-25.
His performances this season have also caught the eye of the great LeBron James, who insists the Celtics man should be in contention for the MVP award.
Speaking after the game on Sunday, James said (via the NBA): “This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well. Like, nobody gave them a shot to start the season.
“I think he just used the motivation of a lot of people just saying that they’re going to have a down year. The whole championship team pretty much is kind of revamped, and he used it as motivation to keep them afloat. They’re playing great basketball, and it’s because of him and the rest of those guys. He’s taken that next step.”
Whether he will actually get that recognition at the end of the season or not is another matter, but if he carries on playing the way he is, it’s hard to imagine a world where Jaylen Brown isn’t crowned MVP.
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