• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, June 8, 2022

Viewership for the 2022 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals Game 1 rose 37% this year, compared with last, according to Nielsen.

NBA Finals Game 1, where the Boston Celtics defeated the Golden State Warriors 120-108, averaged nearly 12 million viewers across ABC and ESPN2 on June 2.

We’re not really here to analyze viewership, but rather the interest in searches related to the NBA Finals -- how to engage NBA fans.

Google’s Search Trends data can be a valuable tool for marketers looking to reach NBA fans during the postseason as they search for everything from players’ hometowns to types of injuries, free agency, fashion and more.

Following the Celtics’ huge fourth quarter, new data coming out of Game 1 of the NBA Finals highlight what fans searched for on Google during the game. 

Key data findings included players such as Stephen Curry, Al Horford, and Jayson Tatum. People also wanted to know when the last time was that the Celtics won a championship.

Search interest in the Golden State Warriors was on par with interest in the Boston Celtics during Game 1. Greenwood-Greenville, MS, was the top designated marketing area (DMA) outside of California searching for the Golden State Warriors during the game. Providence, RI, was the top DMA outside of Massachusetts searching for the Boston Celtics during the game.

The data is segmented by region -- specifically, most searched NBA Finals teams by county through the interactive map that allows users to hover over a region and see the team people in a county searched for most frequently.

And while Google did not identify elements such as favorite foods during the game or how players train to keep in shape, the data shows that for the NBA Finals Game 1, Domino's was the most-searched food place among people who searched for the Golden State Warriors during Game 2. 

McDonald's was the most-searched restaurant for people searching for the Boston Celtics during Game 2.

Fans during game 2 searched for top searched players once again included Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum, but Jordan Poole joined the top three for Game 2. Al Horford was previously in the top three for Game 1.

“How many NBA Finals have there been?” and “Who won the first ever NBA championship?” were among the top trending questions searched during Game 2. It shows curiosity among viewers from previous NBA Finals.

Similar to Game 1, search interest in the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics remained strong during Game 2.

Greenwood-Greenville, Missouri and Providence, Rhode Island remain the top DMAs outside of California and Massachusetts, respectively, searching for the Warriors and Celtics 

Compared with Game 1 searches, West Virginia and North Dakota flipped from searching for the Warriors to searching for the Celtics in Game 2.