The NBA ’s ballyhooed return to NBC brought in a sizable audience — the most for the league’s season opener in 15 years.

A doubleheader on Tuesday averaged 5.6 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, based on Nielsen’s big data plus panel ratings and internal streaming figures. That figure is inclusive of both games, with the later contest between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors stretching well past midnight ET.

The 5.6 million cross-platform viewers are the most for the NBA’s season tipoff since 2010 (excluding the 2011 season, which began on Christmas Day after an owner lockout), which averaged 5.7 million viewers on TNT and featured LeBron James’ first game with the Miami Heat. Last year’s tipoff doubleheader averaged 2.95 million viewers on TNT (under a different Nie

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