We are only a few weeks away from the conclusion of yet another great sporting season. Almost every major sport is ending its season in June. Possibly the most anticipated games at that period of time are the Stanley Cup and the NBA finals.
Both events gather thousands of fans in the stand and millions more in front of the screens. Although its biggest fan base comes from the USA and Canada, these sporting events are also popular in some other countries. The time zone for some of them isn’t going in their favour.
However, many true fans stay late at night or get up early in the morning to watch these spectacular finals. In this article, we will reveal why the NBA and Stanley Cup finals are the biggest events right now.
NBA Finals
It goes without saying that the NBA finals are the most anticipated games in every season. During these matches, you will find die-hard fans as well as spectators who don’t have a clue about basketball. Either way, in the US alone, these games attract around 12.4 million viewers on average.
Usually, the first and the last game of the finals gather the most spectators. But, this doesn’t mean that the games in-between don’t feature a big crowd. Last year, that difference was between 500,000 and 1 million viewers, depending on the game.
The fact that anyone can win the games makes them even more entertaining. Fans love the fast-paced and attractive gameplay provided by the best players in the league.
As the games progresses, the NBA Finals odds at the sportsbooks vary according to the featured results. The format makes these events unique and super exciting to watch.
So far this year, we have only one known team in the final and one that is very likely to feature in these games. The first team to book its place is the Denver Nuggets, which destroyed LA Lakers 4-0. As for the second team, it is very likely to be Miami Heat, as it leads 3-0 against Boston Celtics.
The dominance of both teams during the playoffs was incredible to watch. This is especially true for Miami Heat, as it entered the playoffs through a promotion game. Team performance such as that is the main reason for the enormous popularity of the NBA.
You can catch the NBA finals from June 2nd up to June 18th 2023. The fact that it features the champion of the Western Conference and a potential underdog from the Eastern Conference makes things more exciting. At this moment, all that we can do is wait for this spectacular event to begin.
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup finals are also among the most watched-sporting events of the year on a worldwide scale. Like the NBA, it attracts mostly fans from the US and Canada. But, there are a good number of fans from other countries who enjoy these spectacular games.
Compared to the viewership of the NBA finals, the Stanley Cup finals tend to have lower numbers. But, that isn’t news for most of us, as there are more people interested in the NBA than in the NHL.
Last year, this event featured an average viewership of around 4.6 million. It gathered the biggest attention back in 2019 when 8.7 million fans watched the final game of the Stanley Cup. But, we must mention that these are only the numbers from the networks that broadcast the event live on TV.
As we write this article, the finalists for the Stanley Cup are still unknown. But, judging from the final playoff round, we are very likely to witness finals between the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Both teams are having remarkable seasons and are after their first Stanley Cup in their history. The Florida Panthers provided the biggest surprise this year. They are one step away from the finals after finishing in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
The Vegas Golden Knights, on the other hand, dominated the Western Conference. It is still unusual for many that a team from Vegas that started off in 2017 is among the best in the NHL.
If both teams progress through to the Stanley Cup finals, then we are definitely going to watch a spectacle. Either one of them will certainly write a new page in the history books. The finals start on June 8th and will potentially last until June 18th 2023.
