The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t just the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League kings. They’re also TV ratings royalty. Sports broadcasting giant ESPN has released its TV viewership records — as gathered by Nielsen — for the Summer League, which improved by 112 percent compared to last year’s numbers.
From only 369,000 pair of eyeballs in 2016, this year’s Summer League attracted 783,000 viewers with the Lakers playing a big part in the big jump in viewership. According to Ben Cafardo of ESPNmediazone.com, six of the seven most-watched Summer League contests involved the Lakers, with the rivalry game between them and the Boston Celtics on July 8 raking in the most TV spectators, as it averaged 1,106,000 viewers (P2+). That’s not to mention the 57,000 who tuned in via streaming.
The attention the Lakers have generated this offseason has been massive, especially after the team drafted someone they are apparently grooming to become the franchise’s messiah in Lonzo Ball. And it seemingly spilled over into the Summer League, where the Lakers managed to pull off a championship run.
The Ball era has certainly kicked off for the Lakers and whether that success would carry over into the upcoming season or not, it’s still going to be a very intriguing stretch for the Lakers and their fans.
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