The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors are locked in a tight Western Conference Semifinals series and it's been great television so far. The renewal of the LeBron James-Stephen Curry rivalry has been a lot of fun, and the Lakers currently lead the series 3-2 headed into Game 6 in Los Angeles on Friday. As was predicted, ratings for the series have been through the roof.

On Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports announced the ratings for Game 5 Wednesday night were the highest for an NBA conference semifinal Game 5 on any network in 11 years. The game was the top TV program all day and averaged 7.5 million viewers.

That's huge for a second-round playoff game. And you can bet Friday night's Game 6 will come in big as well. Two of the best players in NBA history and two big-time NBA brands are going at it in an exciting series and the league is being rewarded with big ratings. This is playing out exactly how most predicted it would.

This article was originally published on thebiglead as Lakers-Warriors Series Is Living Up to the Ratings Hype.