NBA Popularity Stats

Posted on 01 November, 2023 by Dimitrije Curcic

NBA popularity on social media

  • With 210.2 million followers across social media platforms, the NBA league is the most popular sports league in the World.
  • This includes all professional leagues, individual and team, along with esports.
  • The NBA also has more social followers than any sports governing body including International Olympic Committee.

  • NBA has 44% more social media fans than the other 4 major leagues in the USA combined (NFL, NHL, MLB, MLS).
  • The NBA has 2.5x more social following than NFL, 6.5x more than MLB, 9.9x more than NHL, and 21.4x more than MLS.

  • The NBA gained 12.9 million new social media fans in 2021 over 2020, 33.4 million compared to 2019, and 59.8 million compared to 2018.
  • During all these years, the league has consistently been the most popular sports league on social media.
  • The NBA is also the 4th fastest-growing sports competition in the World.
  • The league's social following annual growth in 2021 was 7%, it was 12% in 2020, and 18% in 2019.
  • 12.9 new followers in 2021 are 1 million more than the other 4 major USA sports leagues combined during the same period.
  • The NBA gained 9.3 million more new followers in 2019 than the other 4 major leagues combined, and 24.7 million more since 2018.

NBA popularity on Twitter

  • The NBA league is the most followed sports competition in the World on Twitter, with 34.5 million followers.
  • It's the only sports competition with over 30 million followers on Twitter.
  • The league gained 2.6 million new followers in 2021 over 2020, 5.6 million new followers since 2019, and 7 million since 2018.
  • NBA's Twitter following grew 8% annually in 2021, 10% in 2020, and 5% in 2019.

NBA popularity on Facebook

  • With over 39.1 million followers on Facebook, the NBA is the 4th most followed sports event in the World on this platform.
  • NBA's Facebook profile had the lowest annual growth among all social platforms.
  • The league gained only 0.1 million new followers in 2021, 0.9 since 2020, and 2.3 million since 2019.
  • However, the NBA is still the most-followed sport among major sports leagues in the USA on Facebook.

NBA popularity on Instagram

  • With 59,8 million followers, the NBA is the most popular sporting event globally on Instagram.
  • It's the only sporting event with over 50 million followers on the platform.
  • NBA has 2x more Instagram followers than the other 4 major USA leagues combined.
  • Since 2020, the league gained 6.7 million new followers, 16.9 million since 2019, and 26.3 million since 2018.

  • 30 NBA teams have over 529.5 million followers on social media in total.
  • Since 2020, NBA teams gained 26.2 million new followers on social media, 86.1 million since 2019, and 171.5 million since 2018.
  • The average NBA team has 17.65 million fans on social media.

  • The Los Angeles Lakers are the most popular NBA team, having 60.3 million followers across social media platforms.
  • The Lakers' social fan base makes up 11% of the total NBA fanbase.
  • The Lakers are also an NBA team whose online fanbase grew the most since 2018, gaining 20.8 million new followers over 3 years.
  • The Golden State Warriors are the only other team with an online fanbase larger than 50 million, having 52.5 million followers across social.
  • The Warriors gained the most new followers from a year before, with 4.6 million.
  • Top8 NBA teams in social media following account for 53% of the total NBA fanbase.
  • With 5.4 million followers, the Minnesota Timberwolves are the NBA team with the smallest social media fan base.
  • 7 other NBA teams have less than 10 million fans online.

Team Social media followers (million fans) Twitter (million fans) Facebook (million fans) Instagram (million fans)
Los Angeles Lakers 60.30 10.10 21.80 17.60
Golden State Warriors 52.50 6.90 11.50 18.90
Houston Rockets 33.10 3.20 15.60 5.30
Chicago Bulls 32.30 4.30 17.00 6.60
Miami Heat 30.40 4.90 14.60 5.00
Cleveland Cavaliers 27.60 3.20 8.10 10.10
Boston Celtics 23.20 3.70 8.70 5.70
San Antonio Spurs 20.10 3.50 6.80 3.50
Oklahoma City Thunder 19.70 2.80 6.70 4.80
Dallas Mavericks 16.40 1.90 4.30 2.50
Los Angeles Clippers 15.80 1.80 3.80 3.80
New York Knicks 15.10 2.30 5.60 3.00
Brooklyn Nets 15.00 1.50 2.90 3.50
Toronto Raptors 14.80 2.40 2.60 3.40
Sacramento Kings 14.60 1.20 7.60 1.60
Milwaukee Bucks 14.40 1.60 2.10 3.80
Philadelphia 76ers 12.10 2.00 1.70 2.90
Portland Trail Blazers 11.00 1.50 2.40 2.30
Washington Wizards 10.90 1.20 5.20 1.50
Indiana Pacers 10.60 1.30 3.10 2.20
New Orleans Pelicans 10.30 1.20 1.70 2.30
Orlando Magic 9.50 1.50 2.60 1.40
Denver Nuggets 8.70 1.20 2.00 1.60
Phoenix Suns 8.50 1.40 1.90 2.20
Charlotte Hornets 8.50 1.10 1.70 1.70
Utah Jazz 8.10 1.10 2.10 1.10
Detroit Pistons 7.90 1.00 2.00 1.30
Memphis Grizzlies 7.40 1.20 1.80 1.10
Minnesota Timberwolves 5.40 1.10 1.80 2.20
Atlanta Hawks 5.30 1.40 1.60 1.90
  • With 175.9 million fans on social media, LeBron James is the most popular NBA player.
  • James has more online fans than the next 3 NBA players combined.
  • LeBron gained 27.8 million new followers in 2021, 54.1 million since 2019, and 64.5 million since 2018.
  • LeBron James gained more new followers since 2020 than all NBA players outside of the top8 have in total.
  • 24 NBA players have over 10 million fans on social media, and 11 of them have over 20 million.
  • Shaquille O'Neal is the most popular former NBA player, having 49.8 million fans online, 3rd most among all NBA players.
  • 48 most popular NBA players currently have 944 million online fans combined.
  • Kobe Bryant's social media profiles are still among the most popular ones, even after his tragic passing early in 2020.

Player Social media followers (million) Twitter (million fans) Facebook (million fans) Instagram (million fans)
Lebron James 175.9 50.2 26.6 99.1
Stephen Curry 72.1 15.5 12 36.4
Shaquille Oneal 49.8 15.5 9.2 20.3
Kobe Bryant 45.8 15.1 20.5  
Kevin Durant 45.5 19.3 11.9 12.3
Dwyane Wade 43.5 9.6 13 18
Russell Westbrook 32.9 6.8 6.3 17.9
Chris Paul 28.7 8.4 6.1 10.6
Kyrie Irving 26.4 4.3 6.5 15.2
James Harden 24.8 7.2 4.1 11.6
Carmelo Anthony 23.5 9.2 6.4 7.7
Giannis Antetokounmpo 18.8 2 3.3 10.8
Damian Lillard 17.3 2.9 5.1 9.4
Paul George 17.1 2.4 4.4 9.1
Klay Thompson 16.3 1.5 4.9 10
Allen Iverson 16 1.2 4.9 9.8
Derrick Rose 15.9 2.5 12  
Dwight Howard 15.7 6.4 4.6 3.1
Anthony Davis 15 2.2 5.7 7
Pau Gasol 14.2 7.3 4.9 1.9

NBA fans demographics

NBA fan racial demographics

  • Only 46% of NBA fans are white, making the NBA fan base the most diverse among the 4 major leagues in the USA.
  • 27% of NBA fans are black, making the NBA a league with the highest share of black viewers among 4 major leagues.
  • 23% of NBA fans are Hispanic, also the highest share of Hispanic fans among 4 major leagues.
  • In 2021, 76% of black people age 18 and older declared as fans of the NBA, 52.6% of whom state they are avid NBA fans.
  • 68% of Hispanic people over 18 years of age stated they are fans of the NBA.
  • Only 44% of white people declare as NBA fans, only 16% of them being avid fans.

NBA fan age demographics

  • The average fan who watched NBA from TV is 37 years old, while the average NBA fan who attends the games is 36 years old.
  • 33% of people between 35 and 44 years of age stated they are avid NBA fans, most among all age groups.
  • Additionally, 30% of people between 35 and 44 years of age are casual fans of the NBA, making 63% of people in this age group fans of the league.
  • 62% of people ages between 18 and 34 are fans of the NBA, 43% of whom are avid NBA fans.
  • 42% of people aged 45-64 are fans of the league, 35.7% of them being avid fans of the league.
  • On the other hand, only 9% of people age over 65 are avid NBA fans, the least among all age groups.

NBA fans political affiliation

  • Among NBA's fanbase, 42% identified as democrats, making the NBA the largest democrat's fanbase among 4 major sports.
  • The NBA also has the lowest share of republican fans, as only 26% of its fans identify as republicans.
  • 31% of NBA fans are independent politically, also the most among 4 major sports leagues in the USA.
  • The Golden State Warriors are a team with the largest share of Democrats in the fanbase, as 47% of the Warriors' fans identify as such.
  • On the other hand, Memphis Grizzlies have the most conservative fanbase in the NBA, as 32% of their fans identify themselves as republicans.
  • Boston Celtics have the most politically-independent fans, 35% of their fanbase.

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Author
Dimitrije Curcic
Dimitrije Curcic
Dimitrije Curcic has been playing basketball for over 22 years. Like Manu Ginobili, he’s a left-hander whose moves led him to a better career-shooting percentage than the Argentine himself. After playing professionally for 10 years, Dimitrije moved to coaching for two seasons before he became a basketball statistician for StatScore, and FanSided contributor for the San Antonio Spurs. Dimitrije loves to tell hoop stories through numbers and graphics and has been featured on Fansided, FiveThirtyEight, Eurohoops, and TalkBasket among the others.
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