SAN ANTONIO, TX – MAY 06: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates a shot against the San Antonio Spurs during Game One of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center on May 6, 2013 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The Golden State Warriors were the story in the NBA this season, attracting virtually all of the national attention devoted towards the league since November. So it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that the Warriors were also a huge story locally, finishing on top in every category concerning local TV ratings.

As reported by Sports Business Journal, Warriors game telecasts on CSN Bay Area drew the top average rating among all NBA teams this season, earning a 9.76 rating (with an average of 243,000 area homes tuning in). That finished ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers (9.31 rating for Fox Sports Ohio) and San Antonio Spurs (8.71 on Fox Sports Southwest) on their respective regional sports networks. (By the way, that Cavs rating was the largest the team has ever drawn locally.) Warriors games also enjoyed the largest year-to-year increase in ratings, receiving a 160 percent boost compared to last year’s average rating.

Golden State’s regular season finale, in which the team was looking to get its 73rd win and break the NBA record for regular season victories, drew a 23.2 rating for CSN Bay Area, which the network says is the largest number any NBA regular season telecast has drawn on a regional sports network. Additonally, the three top-rated telecasts for CSN Bay Area were all Warriors games from this past season.

But the local ratings news wasn’t so good for the rest of the NBA, unfortunately. According to SBJ’s report, 17 of the 27 NBA clubs suffered year-to-year decreases in ratings. The Atlanta Hawks had the worst decline, with ratings on Fox Sports Southeast decreasing 45 percent to a 1.2 mark. That falls in line with the average rating for Hawks game telecasts in recent years, but last season’s 2.18 average was a high mark.

SBJ has plenty more NBA local TV ratings information, including which team drew the lowest local ratings in the league this past season (it’s been happening for a while, so may not surprise you). How did the Lakers game telecasts do in Kobe Bryant’s final season? Did the ratings get a boost or suffer a decline? And is your team or market in the top or bottom five of this year’s ratings?

[SBJ]

About Ian Casselberry

Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.

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