THE LINEUP: Banner ESPN ratings for historic night of NBA coverage

Hannah Storm captured a colorful moment in Staples Center. What a night! #Kobe A photo posted by Hannah Storm (@espnhannahstorm) on Apr 13, 2016 at 11:43pm PDT ESPN's networks and platforms presented millions of sports fans comprehensive coverage of two historic games closing the 2015-16 NBA regular season on Wednesday, April 13. On ESPN, the host Golden State Warriors won their NBA single-season record 73rd game, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies. Simultaneously on ESPN2, Kobe Bryant closed out his 20-year NBA career with a 60-point performance as his Los Angeles Lakers defeated the visiting Utah Jazz. Final ratings results will be released later today, but the overnights reveal: Golden Stateâ€™s record-setting 73rd win delivered a 2.7 overnight rating on ESPN, making it the highest-rated NBA regular-season game (Non-Christmas) on ESPN since 2014. Kobe Bryantâ€™s farewell game on ESPN2 delivered a 2.6 overnight rating, making it the highest-rated NBA regular-season game ever on ESPN2. Both games surpassed the 100,000 average minute audience threshold on WatchESPN, setting regular-season records. Kobeâ€™s farewell: 134,000, Warriors: 111,000. In this LINEUP, Front Row presents a sampling of the sights and sounds from both Oakland and Los Angeles as presented on social media by ESPN commentators. Even as one of the hundreds of credentialed media for Kobe Bryant's farewell in Los Angeles, The Jump host Rachel Nichols was live streaming ESPN's coverage of the Golden State game which was airing during the same time. My picture-in-picture tonight... pic.twitter.com/JW5LQDAeQY â€” Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 14, 2016 Nichols also recorded Kobe hitting his 50th points on the way to a 60-point finish. Crossing 50 points... pic.twitter.com/PQUNbZ5v2u â€” Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 14, 2016 Cari Champion caught a glimpse of the fans in the tunnel during Kobe's exit. Look at these FANS! No one wanted to leave @STAPLESCenter pic.twitter.com/lMHcBWgmQY â€” Cari Champion (@CariChampion) April 14, 2016 Cassidy Hubbarth took NBA Tonight viewers behind the scenes as she and analysts Marc Spears and Tim Legler prepared for a late-night tour around the Association. NBA Tonight On ESPN2!! @MarcJSpearsESPN @LegsESPN pic.twitter.com/ZzQEooDe8N â€” Cassidy Hubbarth (@CassidyHubbarth) April 13, 2016 Nicole Briscoe's mom got the games a little mixed up ... Text from Mom: How did the Warriors win if Kobe scored that many points? â€” Nicole Briscoe (@RB_Mrs) April 14, 2016 Meanwhile in Oakland, ESPN reporter Ethan Strauss captures some of the Warriors' victory frenzy. Move over, '95-96 Bulls.@SherwoodStrauss on the Warriors' record-setting 73rd win: https://t.co/P2k0KFFaHN pic.twitter.com/KqQqSgAOiK â€” ESPN (@espn) April 14, 2016 ESPN's Mike Breen calls the final seconds of the Golden State Warriors' historic 73rd victory and Mike Tirico frames Kobe's final NBA game exit.

Cari Champion caught a glimpse of the fans in the tunnel during Kobe’s exit.

Related Articles