French basketball player Victor Wembanyama demonstrates his skills following a news conference introducing the Spurs 2023 Draft Class, at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, on June 24, 2023. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
NEW YORK—The selection of 19-year-old basketball sensation Victor Wembanyama by the San Antonio Spurs was must see-TV Thursday night.
The first round of the NBA draft averaged a record 4,928,000 viewers on ESPN and ABC according to Nielsen. This is the third year that the first round has been on both networks.
It was also the most-viewed program across television for the night.
The audience peaked at 6,085,000 during the first 15 minutes (8-8:15 p.m. ET) when the French phenom was drafted. The first round was also 33% higher compared to 2003, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony were selected. That was also the first year that ESPN began carrying the draft after it had aired on Turner Sports from 1985 through 2002.
Overall, draft coverage for both rounds on ESPN averaged 3,743,000 viewers, a 23% increase over last year.
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