With millions of fans across the country and a roster of multi-billion-dollar franchises, the NBA is a superpower in the world of sport. It’s even inspired high-profile films and television series, including Michael Jordan’s The Last Dance, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Rise, and cult classic Space Jam. But which teams and players hold the most influence over fans, sponsors, and the media? We decided to find out!

Comparing social media data, Wikipedia page views, and annual Google searches for each NBA team and player, we’ve been able to rank the most influential basketball franchises and athletes in America.

Ranking The Top 30 most popular NBA teams in the 2022-23 season by 7 social factors

Comparing each NBA team across a range of factors including social media followers, views, and sentiment, Wikipedia activity, and the number of Google searches, we can officially crown the Golden State Warriors as the most influential basketball franchise in America.

This comes as the California team scored an impressive 8.938 out of 10 on our index, largely contributed to by their strong social media following (42.1 million), total TikTok views of videos including their hashtag (3 billion), and annual searches on Google (42.4 million). Meanwhile, only the Denver Nuggets (24.6%) have a greater social media sentiment score than the Warriors (19.4%). Though, with six NBA Finals appearances in the last eight years – including four wins - should we really be too surprised by their influence?

Next up, 17-time NBA champions the Los Angeles Lakers (5.194) and Boston Celtics (3.653) take second and third. The Lakers have more Twitter followers (11.4 million) and Wikipedia page views (3 million) than any other team, while the Celtics are just short of being the third NBA team in the last year to reach a billion TikTok views of videos including their hashtag.

In fourth, the Chicago Bulls also rank among the most followed NBA teams on social media, with 15.2 million fans across all platforms, and have recorded the second-highest number of TikTok views (1 billion). They’re trailed by the Miami Heat (2.545) and Dallas Mavericks (2.157), who each also rank among the top ten teams for TikTok views, while the Utah Jazz (2.125), Milwaukee Bucks (2.007), Denver Nuggets (1.998), and Cleveland Cavaliers (1.978) round out the top ten. Impressively, and perhaps a contributing factor, the Cavs reached the NBA Finals four times in a row between 2015-2018, while the Bucks won in 2021.

At the other end of the table, the NBA’s least influential team is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who can only score 0.533 on our index. They’re joined by the Washington Wizards (0.723), Atlanta Hawks (0.739), and Indiana Pacers (0.793).

Ranking The Top 10 most popular NBA players in NBA 2022-23 season by 7 social factors

We’ve looked at the most influential basketball teams, but what about the players leading the charge? Well, comparing salaries, social media activity, and Google searches for each player, we can rank the NBA athletes who hold the most sway over fans and sponsors.

Who is the most popular NBA player? Taking top spot, who else but the NBA’s all-time leading points scorer and affectionately titled ‘King’. With an index score of 8.770, the Lakers’ LeBron James is officially the most influential basketball player in America, thanks to his phenomenal Instagram following (149 million) and total TikTok views (8 billion), as well as the remarkable 28.9 million Google searches for his name each year. Regarded as one of the greats, there’s a case to be made for him even ranking among the most influential NBA players of all time.

Next up, we have legendary Golden State Warriors shooter Steph Curry, who earns an index score of 6.969. Incredibly, Curry boasts the NBA’s highest salary ($48 million) and has the best social media sentiment score of all players (25.3%). Perhaps unsurprising, he also ranks among the most followed NBA players on Instagram, with just over 50 million fans.

In third, the Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving scores 3.938, followed by Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (3.890) and fellow Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (3.850). All three rank among the top ten players by TikTok views and annual Google searches for their name; though, Durant (11.7%) and Irving (10.6%) have the lowest positive sentiment scores of all players on our list.

Meanwhile, iconic Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (3.821) places sixth among the NBA’s most influential players, aided by having the fourth-highest Instagram following (14.6 million). He’s trailed by Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (3.015), Los Angeles Clippers duo Kawhi Leonard (2.943) and Paul George (2.939), and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (2.939).

As NBA fans gear up for another year of exhilarating playoff action, it’ll be interesting to see whether any new names write themselves into basketball folklore and earn a place among the most influential teams and players. In the meantime, check out all the latest NBA odds for your favorite teams, or discover even more basketball news from our experts.

Methodology

The dataset ranks NBA teams and players according to how influential they are. Eight factors were considered in total, but not all were used on both indexes:

• Twitter followers (team)
• TikTok followers (team)
• Instagram followers (team and player)
• TikTok views (team and player) – the number of views for videos on TikTok containing a hashtag of each team or player in the last 12 months.
• Wikipedia page views (team and player) – the number of page views on each team and player’s Wikipedia in the last 12 months.
• Google search volume (team and player) – the number of Google searches for each team and player over the last 12 months.
• Positive sentiment (team and player)
• Salary (player) – the player’s salary for the 2022/23 season

For each relevant factor, teams and players were separately ranked and given a relative index score between 0-10. The normalized values were then averaged, to give each team and player a score out of 10. 

Data gathered is correct as of 03/23/2023. The most recent data possible was used.

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