2019 NBA Finals
The 2019 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2018–19 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In the best-of-seven playoff series held from May 30 through June 13, 2019, the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Raptors defeated the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors, four games to two, earning the franchise its first NBA championship as well as the first won by a team based outside the United States. In his first year playing with the Raptors after being acquired via a trade during the off-season, Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second time in his career.[1]
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Dates | May 30 – June 13 | ||||||||||||
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MVP | Kawhi Leonard (Toronto Raptors) | ||||||||||||
Television | Canada: English: Sportsnet/Citytv (Games 1, 3, and 5), TSN/CTV 2 (Games 2 and 4) TSN/CTV (Game 6) French: RDS United States: English: ABC Spanish: ESPN Deportes | ||||||||||||
Announcers | Canada:
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Radio network | ESPN Radio (English (United States)) Golden State Warriors Radio Network (Golden State) Sportsnet 590 The FAN (Toronto) TSN Radio 1050 (Toronto) | ||||||||||||
Announcers | Marc Kestecher and Hubie Brown (ESPN Radio) Tim Roye, Jim Barnett and Tom Tolbert (Golden State) Eric Smith and Paul Jones and Sherman Hamilton (Toronto) | ||||||||||||
Referees | |||||||||||||
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Eastern Finals | Raptors defeated Bucks, 4–2 | ||||||||||||
Western Finals | Warriors defeated Trail Blazers, 4–0 | ||||||||||||
This was the first NBA Finals appearance for the Raptors, and the league's first finals with games played outside of the United States.[2] Home-court advantage was awarded to Toronto, who finished the regular season with one more win (58–24) than Golden State (57–25). This was the first time in five consecutive NBA Finals appearances that the then-two-time defending NBA-champion Warriors did not have home-court advantage.[3] Also for the first time over the past five postseasons, the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers did not meet in the championship round.[4] This was the first finals since 2010 to not include superstar LeBron James, who played in the past eight finals with Cleveland and the Miami Heat.[5]
Contents
BackgroundEdit
Golden State WarriorsEdit
During the off-season, Golden State acquired DeMarcus Cousins, who was recovering from a ruptured left Achilles. He gave the Warriors a true, top-flight center for the first time under head coach Steve Kerr.[6][7] During an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in November 2018, Draymond Green cursed out teammate Kevin Durant over his upcoming free agency status after the season, and he was suspended for the much-publicized blowup.[8][9][10] In January 2019, Cousins returned, and the Warriors became the first team in 42 years with a starting lineup of five NBA All-Stars from the previous season.[6] The team finished the regular season with a 57–25 record, winning the Pacific Division and securing the 1st seed in the Western Conference.[11]
In the playoffs, Golden State defeated the Clippers in six games in the first round, despite blowing leads at home in Games 2 and 5.[10] Cousins tore his left quadriceps in Game 2, and was initially thought to be out for the remainder of the postseason.[12] In a sign of respect and with an increased urgency, Kerr opened the following round against the Houston Rockets by moving Andre Iguodala from the bench and starting the Hamptons Five for the first time in the season.[13][14] With the Splash Brothers, Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, struggling with their shooting, Durant had been the team's best player in the playoffs, averaging a team-leading 35.4 points entering Game 5.[15] However, Durant left the game late in the third quarter after suffering a strained right calf;[15][16] he was later ruled out indefinitely. Led by Curry and Thompson, Golden State pulled out Game 5 without Durant, and won the series in six games.[16][17] In the Western Conference finals, Golden State swept the Portland Trail Blazers 4–0, with three of the wins including comebacks of 15 points or more. After starting nine consecutive games,[3] Iguodala missed the deciding Game 4 with a sore left calf injury from Game 3.[18] Curry averaged a series career-high 36.5 points, the highest average by a player in a four-game sweep in NBA history.[19] This was Golden State's fifth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. They were the second team in NBA history to achieve this feat, joining the Boston Celtics, who played in 10 straight Finals (1957–1966).[a]
Toronto RaptorsEdit
During the off-season, the Raptors fired coach Dwane Casey, who was named the 2018 NBA Coach of the Year weeks later, and replaced him with assistant coach Nick Nurse. They also traded DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Pöltl to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.[10] The move stunned the All-Star DeRozan, who had become a fan favorite in his nine seasons in Toronto.[20][21] It was a risky move for the Raptors and their president, Masai Ujiri, as Leonard was one year away from becoming a free agent,[20] and he wanted to leave the San Antonio Spurs after playing in just nine games in 2017–18 due to tendinopathy in his left quadriceps.[10][21] However, the 2014 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) made it through the season healthy while being systematically rested for 22 games.[10][21] During the season, Toronto also traded a package which included Jonas Valančiūnas to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Marc Gasol.[10]
The Raptors defeated the Orlando Magic in five games in the first round. After trailing 2–1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals,[22] they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games, with Leonard hitting the game-winner at the buzzer as the ball bounced four times on the rim before falling in.[21] Toronto advanced to the Eastern Conference finals to face the Milwaukee Bucks. Despite trailing 2–0, the Raptors won the next four games to advance to the Finals in six games,[20] as Leonard outplayed the Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo.[21] This was their first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history,[23] breaking a 25-year drought for teams from Toronto appearing in the championship round of any of the four major North American professional sports leagues since Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays won the 1993 World Series.[24]
Road to the FinalsEdit
Toronto Raptors (Eastern Conference champion) | Golden State Warriors (Western Conference champion) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Regular season |
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Defeated the 7th seeded Orlando Magic, 4–1 | First round | Defeated the 8th seeded Los Angeles Clippers, 4–2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Defeated the 3rd seeded Philadelphia 76ers, 4–3 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the 4th seeded Houston Rockets, 4–2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Defeated the 1st seeded Milwaukee Bucks, 4–2 | Conference Finals | Defeated the 3rd seeded Portland Trail Blazers, 4–0 |
Regular season seriesEdit
The Raptors won the regular season series 2–0.
December 12, 2018
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Toronto Raptors 113, Golden State Warriors 93 |
Series summaryEdit
Game | Date | Away Team | Result | Home Team |
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Game 1 | Thursday, May 30 | Golden State Warriors | 109–118 (0–1) | Toronto Raptors |
Game 2 | Sunday, June 2 | Golden State Warriors | 109–104 (1–1) | Toronto Raptors |
Game 3 | Wednesday, June 5 | Toronto Raptors | 123–109 (2–1) | Golden State Warriors |
Game 4 | Friday, June 7 | Toronto Raptors | 105–92 (3–1) | Golden State Warriors |
Game 5 | Monday, June 10 | Golden State Warriors | 106–105 (2–3) | Toronto Raptors |
Game 6 | Thursday, June 13 | Toronto Raptors | 114–110 (4–2) | Golden State Warriors |
Game summariesEdit
- All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
Game 1Edit
May 30
9:00 pm |
Golden State Warriors 109, Toronto Raptors 118 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 28–34, 32–29, 28–30 | ||
Pts: Stephen Curry 34 Rebs: Draymond Green 10 Asts: Draymond Green 10 |
Pts: Pascal Siakam 32 Rebs: Leonard, Siakam 8 each Asts: Kyle Lowry 9 | |
Toronto leads series, 1–0 |
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 19,983 Referees: James Capers, Jason Phillips, John Goble |
Pascal Siakam scored a playoff career-high 32 points on 14-of-17 shooting to lead Toronto to a 118–109 win over Golden State. The Raptors had a 10-point lead at the half. Siakam, a finalist for the NBA Most Improved Player Award, shot 6-for-6 in the third quarter to keep the Warriors at bay. Toronto maintained a double-digit lead for most of the fourth quarter, countering every rally by Golden State.[25]
Leonard had 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in his first NBA Finals game since he was named the Finals MVP in 2014. Gasol added 20 for the Raptors. Curry scored 34 and Thompson had 21 for Golden State, which had won Game 1 of the Finals in each the last four years. Draymond Green had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Cousins returned from a quadriceps injury to come off the bench in his first NBA Finals game.[25] After missing Game 4 of the Western Conference finals with a left calf injury, Iguodala left near the end of this game after limping and favoring his right leg.[26] Durant, the MVP of the last two NBA Finals, traveled with the team to Toronto, but remained sidelined.[25]
Game 2Edit
June 2
8:00 pm |
Golden State Warriors 109, Toronto Raptors 104 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 28–32, 34–21, 21–24 | ||
Pts: Klay Thompson 25 Rebs: Cousins, Green 10 each Asts: Draymond Green 9 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 34 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 14 Asts: Pascal Siakam 4 | |
Series tied, 1–1 |
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 20,014 Referees: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Ed Malloy |
Thompson scored a team-high 25 points, and the Warriors outscored the Raptors 18–0 to start the second half before holding off a late Toronto rally to win 109–104.[27][28] Thompson had 18 points in the first half to keep Golden State in the game. They trailed by 11 with almost two minutes left until halftime before cutting it to 59–54 at the half. The Warriors' 18 unanswered points to begin the second half were the most in NBA Finals history to start a half.[28] Thompson left the game in the fourth quarter with a left hamstring injury after landing awkwardly on a three-point field goal attempt.[27][28] Toronto scored 10 straight points to pull within two points at 106–104, but Iguodala cemented the win with a 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds remaining in the game.[28]
Curry finished the game with 23 points after missing his first six shots of the game.[27] Cousins, who was moved into the starting lineup, had 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and Green had 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to fall one assist short of his fourth straight triple-double.[28] Warriors backup center Kevon Looney missed the second half with a chest contusion.[27][28] Leonard led the Raptors with 34 points and 14 rebounds, and Fred VanVleet added 17 points. Game 1 star Siakam scored just 12 points on 5-for-18 shooting. Toronto was held to 37.2 percent shooting for the game.[27]
Game 3Edit
June 5
9:00 pm |
Toronto Raptors 123, Golden State Warriors 109 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 36–29, 24–23, 36–31, 27–26 | ||
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 30 Rebs: Pascal Siakam 9 Asts: Kyle Lowry 9 |
Pts: Stephen Curry 47 Rebs: Stephen Curry 8 Asts: Stephen Curry 7 | |
Toronto leads series, 2–1 |
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Marc Davis, David Guthrie, Kane Fitzgerald |
Leonard scored 30 points and the Raptors shot 52.4% and made 17 three-pointers to win 123–109 on the road over the short-handed Warriors. Curry scored a playoff career-high 47 points, shooting 14 for 31 including 6 of 14 on 3-pointers,[29] while his teammates totaled 62 points on 36.7 percent shooting.[30] Golden State played without injured starters Thompson and Durant, and backup big man Looney. Toronto's Kyle Lowry had 23 points and five 3-pointers, and Danny Green added 18 points on 6 made 3s, as all five of their starters scored in double figures. VanVleet contributed 11 points off the bench.[29]
Thompson practiced earlier in the day, but did not warm up for the game. Kerr had said that the Warriors were not going to play him if there was risk of further damage.[29] Looney was out with a cartilage fracture near his right collarbone.[29][31]
Game 4Edit
June 7
9:00 pm |
Toronto Raptors 105, Golden State Warriors 92 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 17–23, 25–23, 37–21, 26–25 | ||
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 36 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 12 Asts: Kyle Lowry 7 |
Pts: Klay Thompson 28 Rebs: Draymond Green 9 Asts: Draymond Green 12 | |
Toronto leads series, 3–1 |
Toronto took a 3–1 lead in the series after Leonard scored 36 points and had 12 rebounds in a 105–92 road win over Golden State.[32] The Raptors fell behind by 11 early in the contest,[32] and trailed 46–42 at halftime.[33] They outscored the Warriors 37–21 in the third quarter, when Leonard scored 17 of his points, and led by as many as 16 in the final quarter.[33] Serge Ibaka scored 20 points for Toronto, shooting 9 for 12 in 22 minutes off the bench. Thompson returned from injury to lead Golden State with 28 points, including six 3-pointers.[32]
Siakam added 19 points for the Raptors.[32] VanVleet needed seven stitches in the fourth quarter after the Warriors' Shaun Livingston inadvertently elbowed him in the face.[33] The only other player to score over 10 points for Golden State, Curry had 27 points, but shot just 9 for 22 and missed 7 of his 9 three-point attempts. Looney returned to score 10 points after Kerr initially declared him out for the series following his Game 2 injury.[32][33]
Game 5Edit
June 10
9:00pm |
Golden State Warriors 106, Toronto Raptors 105 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 34–28, 28–28, 22–22, 22–27 | ||
Pts: Stephen Curry 31 Rebs: Draymond Green 10 Asts: Draymond Green 8 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 26 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 12 Asts: Leonard, Lowry 6 each | |
Toronto leads series, 3–2 |
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 20,144 Referees: James Capers, Jason Phillips, Ed Malloy |
Curry scored 31 points and Thompson had 26 to help the Warriors stave off elimination with a 106–105 win at Toronto. They combined for three straight 3-pointers after the Raptors led by six points with 3 1⁄2 minutes left in the game.[34] Durant returned after missing the previous nine games with his right calf injury,[34] and scored 11 points in the first quarter.[35] However, he was lost for the game two minutes into the second quarter when he tried to drive by Ibaka and suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, falling and grabbing his lower right calf. He limped off the court and was helped to the locker room.[35][36] Leonard scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter to erase Golden State's 14-point lead.[34] Lowry's potential game-winning, 3-point shot at the buzzer fell short after it was partially blocked by Green.[34][37]
Golden State made 20 three-pointers, the second most in NBA Finals history behind Cleveland's 24 against the Warriors in Game 4 in 2017.[35] Cousins, who did not enter the game until Durant's injury, had 14 points and six rebounds for the Warriors, and Green added 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.[35] Leonard had 26 points for the Raptors, while Lowry added 18 and Gasol 17 to lead six Raptors in double figures.[37] Golden State played most of the second half without Looney, who aggravated his cartliage fracture after colliding with Lowry while battling for a rebound.[35][38]
Durant left the arena on crutches and in a walking boot. "I don't believe there's anybody to blame [for Durant's injury], but I understand in this world, and if you have to, you can blame me," said Bob Myers, the Warriors' president of basketball operations.[35] Durant underwent surgery to repair the tendon, and could potentially miss all of the following season.[36] Originally expected to become a free agent after the 2018–19 season, he has a $31.5 million option to remain with Golden State for another season.[39]
Nurse was criticized for calling a timeout with Toronto up 103–97 after going on a 12–2 run; the Splash Brothers' three 3-pointers came after the break.[40][41] In its Last Two Minutes report, the NBA stated that Cousins should have been called for a shooting foul on Gasol with 49 seconds left in the game, which would have given Gasol two free throws with the Raptors trailing 106–103 at that time.[42][43][44]
Game 6Edit
June 13
9:00pm |
Toronto Raptors 114, Golden State Warriors 110 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 33–32, 27–25, 26–31, 28–22 | ||
Pts: Siakam, Lowry 26 each Rebs: Pascal Siakam 10 Asts: Kyle Lowry 10 |
Pts: Klay Thompson 30 Rebs: Draymond Green 19 Asts: Draymond Green 13 | |
Toronto wins series, 4–2 |
Leonard scored 22 points and had six rebounds and was named the NBA Finals MVP after Toronto won 114–110 over Golden State to claim its first championship in franchise history. Thompson scored a game-high 30 points for the Warriors, but was lost for the game with 2:22 remaining in the third quarter after landing awkwardly and suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee on a drive to the basket contested by Danny Green. The Warriors managed to remain in the game until a missed 3-pointer by Curry in the final seconds of the game. Trying to secure the ball after the miss, Golden State called a timeout, but they did not have any left, and were assessed a technical foul. It was academic, as time would have otherwise expired had they not attempted to stop the clock.[45]
Lowry and Siakam led Toronto with 26 points each. Lowry scored 11 of his points in the first two-plus minutes of the contest. Van Vleet finished with 22 points, including 12 in the final period, and made five of the team's 13 three-pointers. Siakam added 10 rebounds. Curry had 21 points for Golden State, but he was hounded by the Raptors in the fourth quarter without Durant or Thompson available. Draymond Green had a triple-double with 11 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists, but committed eight turnovers. Iguodala had 22 points despite shooting only 1 of 5 on free throws.[45]
Leonard averaged 28.5 points per game in the series,[46] and joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James as the only players to be named Finals MVP with two different teams. Toronto was the first Canadian team to win the NBA title, and the first non-American team to win any of the Big Four North American sports titles since the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in 1993.[47] This was the Warriors' last game ever at Oracle Arena, as they will move to the new Chase Center in San Francisco at the beginning of the 2019–20 season. They finished 0–3 at home in the series.[45]
RostersEdit
Toronto RaptorsEdit
2018–19 Toronto Raptors roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Golden State WarriorsEdit
2018–19 Golden State Warriors roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Player statisticsEdit
Legend | |||||
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GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
- Golden State Warriors
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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Stephen Curry | 6 | 6 | 41.7 | .414 | .343 | .947 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 30.5 |
Klay Thompson | 5 | 5 | 37.6 | .541 | .585 | .875 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 26.0 |
Draymond Green | 6 | 6 | 41.2 | .433 | .263 | .857 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 12.5 |
Kevin Durant | 1 | 1 | 12.0 | .600 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 11.0 |
Andre Iguodala | 6 | 6 | 31.4 | .431 | .308 | .333 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 9.2 |
DeMarcus Cousins | 6 | 3 | 18.0 | .425 | .222 | .609 | 4.7 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 8.3 |
Kevon Looney | 5 | 1 | 20.8 | .583 | .000 | .250 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 5.8 |
Quinn Cook | 6 | 0 | 14.7 | .379 | .313 | 1.000 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 4.8 |
Shaun Livingston | 6 | 1 | 16.3 | .417 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 4.7 |
Jonas Jerebko | 4 | 0 | 6.5 | .286 | .375 | .750 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 |
Andrew Bogut | 5 | 0 | 8.9 | .750 | .000 | .000 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 2.4 |
Alfonzo McKinnie | 6 | 0 | 9.6 | .313 | .300 | .000 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.2 |
Jordan Bell | 4 | 1 | 6.3 | .750 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
Jacob Evans | 3 | 0 | 0.6 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Damian Jones | 1 | 0 | 1.6 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
- Toronto Raptors
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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Kawhi Leonard | 6 | 6 | 40.5 | .434 | .357 | .906 | 9.8 | 4.2 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 28.5 |
Pascal Siakam | 6 | 6 | 40.1 | .505 | .238 | .762 | 7.3 | 3.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 19.8 |
Kyle Lowry | 6 | 6 | 38.1 | .425 | .368 | .789 | 4.0 | 7.2 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 16.2 |
Fred VanVleet | 6 | 0 | 32.4 | .444 | .400 | .857 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
Marc Gasol | 6 | 6 | 28.8 | .447 | .316 | .923 | 7.3 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 12.0 |
Serge Ibaka | 6 | 0 | 19.3 | .560 | .333 | .769 | 5.2 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 11.3 |
Danny Green | 6 | 6 | 27.2 | .390 | .364 | .000 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 7.3 |
Norman Powell | 6 | 0 | 11.0 | .308 | .167 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
Patrick McCaw | 4 | 0 | 3.1 | .500 | 1.000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
Jeremy Lin | 1 | 0 | 0.9 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Jodie Meeks | 1 | 0 | 0.9 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Malcolm Miller | 1 | 0 | 0.9 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Source: [48]
SponsorshipEdit
As part of a multiyear partnership that began in 2018, the internet television service YouTube TV is the presenting sponsor of the NBA Finals,[49] and the series is officially named as the NBA Finals 2019 presented by YouTube TV.[50]
Media coverageEdit
In the United States, the Finals was televised by ABC in English and ESPN Deportes in Spanish. Play-by-play commentator Mike Breen, and analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson called the series on ABC, while Álvaro Martín (play-by-play) and Carlos Morales (analyst) were on ESPN Deportes.[51]
In Canada, the Raptors' and the NBA's main local rightsholders, Sportsnet (games 1, 3, 5, and 7) and TSN (games 2, 4, and 6), alternated to air locally produced telecasts with the Raptors' commentary team of Matt Devlin on play-by-play, and Leo Rautins or Jack Armstrong as analysts. TSN sister broadcast television network CTV 2 aired simulcasts of ABC's feed for games 2 and 4 in order to enforce simultaneous substitution rights on ABC stations carried on pay television,[52] while game 6 was simulcast on CTV.[53] Sportsnet's sister broadcast network Citytv similarly simulcast games 3 and 5.[54]
The series marks the first time that a team's regional broadcaster has produced its own coverage of games during the NBA Finals: as the NBA's sole Canadian franchise, the Raptors' parent company Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (which is, in turn, majority owned between a partnership of Sportsnet and TSN's respective owners, Rogers Communications and BCE Inc.) manages the league's national media rights in Canada.[55] These local broadcasts have access to ABC's camera feeds, along with additional cameras that are part of its own production resources.[56]
ViewershipEdit
In Canada, game 1 recorded an average of 3.3 million viewers on Sportsnet, making it the highest-rated NBA game in Canadian history.[57] By contrast, with 10.77 million U.S. viewers, game 1 was the lowest-rated NBA Finals game in the U.S. since 2013, and the lowest-rated game 1 in the Finals since 2009. Analysts cited both the presence of a Canadian team (Canadian viewership does not count towards U.S. Nielsen ratings, leading to only one U.S. home market being reflected in viewership), and being the first NBA Finals to not to feature a team with LeBron James since 2010, as factors in the drop.[58][59] In the Warriors' home market, ratings were also lower in comparison to its past Game 1 appearances.[60]
The Canadian record would be surpassed by Game 2, with an average of 4.3 million across TSN, the French-language broadcast on RDS, and CTV2's simulcast of ABC's broadcast, and an estimate that the game was seen at any point by at least 10 million viewers. The game also had a 68% ratings share in the Toronto market. Game 3 was seen by 3.8 million viewers across Sportsnet and Citytv.[61][62] The downward trend of U.S. viewership continued on Game 4, with a 9.8 share for the Friday-night game (a 12.5% year-over-year decline over Game 4 in 2018).[63][64] TSN reported average viewership of 4.631 million, surpassing Canadian NBA viewership records for the third time in the series.[65]
U.S. Game 5 viewership was 37% higher over Game 4, while Sportsnet reported an average of 6.4 million viewers across Sportsnet and the Citytv simulcast of ABC coverage—surpassing the series finale of The Big Bang Theory (4.33 million), Super Bowl LIII (4.34 million), and the 91st Academy Awards (5.21 million)[66] as the most-watched television broadcast of 2019 in Canada, and once again the most-watched NBA telecast in Canada. The NBA itself estimated 6.9 million viewers when accounting for the French feed on RDS and estimated viewership on out-of-market stations.[67][68] Game 6 further exceeded these numbers with an average of 7.7 million.[69]
Game | Ratings (American households) |
American audience (in millions) |
Canadian average audience (in millions) |
Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7.9 | 13.31 | 3.3 | [70][57] |
2 | 8.0 | 13.88 | 4.3 | [71][62] |
3 | 7.8 | 13.10 | 3.8 | [72][62] |
4 | 4.3 | 12.79 | 4.631 | [65][73] |
5 | 6.5 | 18.22 | 6.4 | [67][74] |
6 | 10.7 | 18.34 | 7.7 | [75] |
Avg | 7.5 | 14.94 | 5.021 |
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
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External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2019 NBA Finals. |
- Official website
- 2019 NBA Finals at Basketball-Reference.com