NEW YORK -- With LeBron James taking center stage, TV ratings for the NBA draft were the highest since 1997.

ESPN's broadcast Thursday night drew a 2.64 rating, a 27.5 percent increase from last year's 2.07 rating on TNT. This was the first year ESPN broadcast the NBA draft.

About 2.3 million households tuned into the telecast, making it the most-watched NBA draft since 1996. That was an increase of 28.1 percent from last year's household count of about 1.8 million.

James, the high school phenom from Akron, Ohio, went to the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick.