The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics delivered a first-round playoff series for the ages, and fans couldn't get enough of it. Game 7, where the Sixers clinched a dramatic 109-100 victory on the road, averaged an eye-popping 11 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. According to the NBA, that makes it the most-watched first-round Game 7 in league history—and the most-watched first-round game overall in 27 years.

The entire first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs also set a new benchmark, averaging 4 million viewers per game. That's the highest first-round viewership in 33 years, proving that this year's postseason has captured the imagination of basketball fans everywhere.

The series itself was a rollercoaster. Boston took Game 1, but Philadelphia evened the score in Game 2. The Celtics then rattled off two straight wins, including a dominant 128-96 blowout in Game 4, to take a commanding 3-1 lead. At that point, history was not on the Sixers' side—Philadelphia had an NBA-record 0-18 mark when trailing 3-1 in a series, while Boston was a perfect 32-0 when leading 3-1.

But the 76ers refused to fold. They stormed back with three consecutive wins, two of them in Boston, to complete one of the rarest comebacks in NBA history. This marks just the 14th time a team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-7 series. The victory also snapped Philadelphia's six-series losing streak against the Celtics in the playoffs.

Up next for the Sixers: a conference semifinals matchup against the New York Knicks. The Knicks wasted no time making a statement, blowing out Philadelphia 137-98 in Game 1. For fans of the game, this postseason is shaping up to be one for the history books—and a reminder that in basketball, anything can happen when the stakes are highest.