Trump's NBA Finals appearance draws 23.8M viewers, the biggest audience since 1998

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump's appearance at the NBA Finals quickly became a ratings story after new viewership numbers showed Game 3 drew its biggest audience in nearly three decades.

The crowd inside Madison Square Garden wasn't the only audience watching. New ratings data put Trump's attendance at the center of a record-setting television night.

Trump-attended game posts massive audience

Trump became the first sitting US president to attend an NBA finals game when he arrived at Madison Square Garden for Game 3 between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs.

According to viewership figures shared by ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Trump-attended matchup attracted 26.3 million viewers at its peak and averaged 23.8 million viewers.

Those numbers made it the most-watched Game 3 of any NBA finals series since 1998, according to the Breitbart.

The audience figures transformed what could have been a routine presidential sports appearance into a broader conversation about reach and visibility, with millions tuning in as cameras repeatedly showed Trump in his suite.

Michael Jordan comparison fuels ratings buzz

The significance of the ratings became clearer when compared with past NBA finals audiences.

The viewers would have to go back to "Game 3 of Michael Jordan's last championship season and his final season with the Chicago Bulls" to find a Finals Game 3 that attracted a larger audience.

That comparison immediately elevated the significance of the numbers beyond a normal sports television benchmark.

According to the source, the Trump-attended game drew stronger Game 3 numbers than any of the 10 Finals Game 3 appearances involving LeBron James.

"For those keeping score at home," the source stated, "that means President Trump has drawn better Game 3 numbers" than those appearances.

Trump follows through on finals promise

The appearance itself had been planned in advance.

The president had said more than a week earlier that he intended to attend one of the finals games after receiving an invitation from Knicks owner James Dolan.

He followed through on that plan Monday night, and cameras captured him saluting during the national anthem.

Trump did not get to see New York win. The Knicks, however, still hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and have another opportunity to extend that advantage in Game 4.

Trump is not expected to attend the next game, according to the sources.

But the ratings attached to his lone finals appearance are likely to remain part of the conversation, with the newly released audience figures turning a courtside visit into one of the biggest television stories of this year's NBA finals.