Luka Doncic’s Lakers Debut Drew Massive Viewership Numbers

Ricardo Sandoval | Feb 12, 2025

Feb 10, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts after a basket against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

All eyes were on the debut of the Los Angeles Lakers' newest superstar, Luka Dončic, literally. 

According to ESPN PR, Dončić's debut as a Laker averaged 2.1 million viewers. 

Luka Dončić's @Lakers debut against the @utahjazz on Monday averaged 2.01M viewers pic.twitter.com/rioiHzzBhH

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) February 12, 2025

Dončić's debut on the Lakers was the 15th most watched game of the season and the second most watched game on ESPN behind the Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics match on Nov. 6. 

Everyone and anyone wanted to see Dončić in purple and gold. While he did not have his best outing, he was quite solid, considering he did not play for over 40 days due to a left calf strain.

In his debut, he tallied 14 points on 5-for-14 shooting from the field, five rebounds, and four assists in 24 minutes of action. 

The NBA has not been doing well with viewership, and this trade could be just what it needs to get back on course.

ESPN's viewership declined by 28 percent in the 2023-24 season. NBA ratings were down 48 percent since 2012.

A few weeks ago, Adam Silver touched on the topic and suggested that it is due to the young 18-34 demographic, which does not have traditional cable and instead has options for streaming services. 

"We're about even with last year in terms of our ratings," said Silver. "We were down initially in the season, we were up against the World Series. Obviously, there was a national election going on which was driving a lot of viewership towards politics."

But now, we had a huge Christmas day. We're up on ESPN and ABC, down a little bit on our other networks, but roughly even for the season, and last season was our highest regular season viewership in four years. So we're doing fine from a viewership standpoint."

In the fall of 2025, the NBA will start televising its games on NBC and Amazon in hopes of regaining its viewership. 

The NBA thrives on star power and their best teams. When the Lakers are great, so is the NBA; add an international superstar to the mix, which Dončić is, and the NBA will be in a great spot. 

Dončić was traded to the Lakers on Feb. 1 in one of the more shocking and stunning trades of all time. 

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For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.