Oklahoma City Celebrates First NBA Title

Join hosts Michael Barr, Damian Sassower and Vanessa Perdomo for a look at some of the latest headlines and stories in the business of sports. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 7 win Sunday over the Indiana Pacers delivered the most-watched NBA finals game in six years, Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN said. The Thunder’s 103-91 victory averaged 16.4 million viewers, the network said in a statement Monday, citing Nielsen data. The entire series averaged 10.3 million viewers per game, the least since 2021. 

Bloomberg US sports business reporter Randall Williams joins to discuss this year’s finals and some of the other big headlines in the NBA, including Cooper Flagg going first in the NBA Draft. Then, Michael Israel, Chief Information & Technology Officer of the Kraft Group joins to discuss some of the innovations he’s helping to spearhead across the company and including at Gillette Stadium and how Kraft Group is using artificial intelligence. 

Then, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt joins to talk about the Thunder bringing an NBA championship to his town, what it took to bring an NBA franchise there to begin with and what the team’s success means going forward.

Plus, we hear a portion of the latest episode of “The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly”, featuring Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio and legendary football coach Bill Belichick.

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