Top NBA Players With the Highest Social Interactions Among Fans

The NBA Top 10 social performers is comprised of athletes that are having very different seasons.  Some athletes are having MVP caliber seasons and getting their teams ready for the playoffs, others are going through a rebuilding season and a couple are on their farewell tour after legendary NBA Careers.  With players season being different, they still have the power of social to engage with their fans.   

Key Insights

Final Season and Family Help Dwyane Wade to the Top of Social

After a storied 18 year long career, it is looking like the 2018-19 will be Dwyane Wade’s last.  Wade has been dominating the social channels, with the help of his 6 month old daughter and wife Gabrielle Union.  Wade has gathered 7.2M social interactions, by posting about his final games in certain arenas and showing adorable pictures of his daughter, Kaavia James Union Wade.

The Greek Freak dominates on the court and on social

Propelling the Milwaukee Bucks into first place in the east, Giannis is having an MVP worthy season on the court and on social.  One of Giannis’ most engaging posts came when he congratulated his brother, Kostas Antetokounmpo, on his first NBA points.  The post received 420.8K social interactions, which keeps Giannis near the top of the social leaderboard.

Three Lakers in the top 10

With a season plagued with injuries and falling short of making the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have the season they were hoping for.  On the bright side, the Lakers had three of the Top 10 players on the social charts for the month of March. #2 Kyle Kuzma (2.9M interactions), #5 Lebron James (2.1M interactions), and #8 JaVale McGee (1.1M interactions), show that even despite a subpar season, players can boost their team’s popularity with the work they do on social.

The Wrap Up

March was an important month for the NBA players, teams, and fans.  With teams qualifying for the playoffs, players battling in the MVP race and legends doing a farewell tour, the NBA and its players have driven a lot of engagement on social channels.  Social media gives players a voice on which they can build a fanbase and talk about topics that aren’t exclusively about basketball.  Some of the posts that garnered the most interactions were about the players families, friends, and colleagues.

Note: All data is from official Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram Business accounts. Any personal Instagram account data is not included in these rankings.



Written by Chad Patteson
Chad is on the partnership development team at Hookit. He studied Sports Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara and has worked in many aspects of athletics and analytics.


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