Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals flopped in the ratings. Tuesday’s Timberwolves-Thunder NBA Western Conference Finals Game 1 averaged 5.36 million viewers across ESPN and an ESPN2 “InsightCast” (366K), marking the least-watched conference final opener since Clippers-Suns on ABC in 2021, which aired a month out of schedule on Father’s Day (4.72M). It was also the least-watched conference final game of any kind since Hawks-Bucks Game 5 in that same 2021 postseason, which aired in July (4.92M). Excluding the COVID-delayed playoffs of 2020 and 2021, it was the least-watched conference final opener since Grizzlies-Spurs on ABC in 2013 (4.85M) and the least-watched conference final game since Bucks-Raptors Game 4 on TNT in 2019 (5.3M).