Liberty-Lynx Game 2 draws largest WNBA Finals audience in 23 years, up 115 percent from 2023 Game 2

The WNBA’s season-long viewership momentum has extended to its showcase series.

Game 2 of the WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx — which tipped off at 3 p.m. ET Sunday against NFL programming — averaged 1.34 million viewers on ABC, ESPN announced Tuesday. That’s the most-watched WNBA Finals game since Game 2 of the 2001 WNBA Finals and the most-viewed WNBA Finals game ever to air on ABC.

ESPN said viewership peaked with 1.82 million viewers and was up 115 percent over Game 2 of last year’s WNBA Finals.

Sports Media Watch, citing its data, said the game was the eighth most-watched WNBA Finals game ever. The most-watched WNBA Finals game came in 1999 for Game 5 between New York and Houston, with 3.25 million viewers on NBC.

Sports Media Watch said 29 WNBA telecasts this season have averaged over one million viewers, nearly double the previous record for million-viewer windows in a single season (15 in 1998).

Game 2 follows a big viewership number for Game 1, which featured Minnesota overcoming an 18-point deficit in the second quarter. That game averaged 1.14 million viewers.

The big-picture takeaway is the series is easily tracking to be the fifth-most watched WNBA Finals ever and the most in two decades.

Game 3 of the 1-1 series is Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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