The large, global social media following of the Lakers welcomed Julius Randle with open arms after he was taken with the No. 7 pick in Thursday's NBA Draft. Randle gained over 40,000 new Twitter followers overnight to lead all first-round picks. The other significant mover was overall No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins, who gained over 32,000 new followers overnight after being drafted by the Cavaliers. After the top two, there is a considerable drop-off in new followers. Doug McDermott, Joel Embiid, Dante Exum and Jabari Parker were all lottery picks that gained over 15,000 followers overnight. A late-round mover was LeBron James-approved guard Shabazz Napier, who gained over 14,000 followers after being acquired by the Heat in a trade. All Twitter follower information was compiled from official accounts on June 26 and June 27.
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TWITTER FOLLOWER GAINS AMONG NBA FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICKS
|
|
PICK
|
TEAM |
PLAYER |
SCHOOL/
COUNTRY
|
6/27
FOLLOWS
|
6/26
FOLLOWS
|
ADDS
|
|
7
|
Lakers |
Julius Randle |
Kentucky
|
148,820
|
108,012
|
40,808
|
|
1
|
Cavaliers |
Andrew Wiggins |
Kansas
|
199,792
|
167,761
|
32,031
|
|
11
|
Bulls* |
Doug McDermott |
Creighton
|
82,608
|
64,073
|
18,535
|
|
3
|
76ers |
Joel Embiid |
Kansas
|
67,229
|
49,956
|
17,273
|
|
5
|
Jazz |
Dante Exum |
Australia
|
37,031
|
20,227
|
16,804
|
|
2
|
Bucks |
Jabari Parker |
Duke
|
140,332
|
123,680
|
16,652
|
|
24
|
Heat* |
Shabazz Napier |
Connecticut
|
22,671
|
8,236
|
14,435
|
|
6
|
Celtics |
Marcus Smart |
Okla. State
|
40,982
|
32,673
|
8,309
|
|
8
|
Kings |
Nik Stauskas |
Michigan
|
77,221
|
70,818
|
6,403
|
|
4
|
Magic |
Aaron Gordon |
Arizona
|
35,441
|
29,578
|
5,863
|
|
13
|
T'Wolves |
Zach LaVine |
UCLA
|
12,783
|
8,209
|
4,574
|
|
23
|
Jazz |
Rodney Hood |
Duke
|
7,954
|
4,107
|
3,847
|
|
9
|
Hornets |
Noah Vonleh |
Indiana
|
20,429
|
16,661
|
3,768
|
|
18
|
Suns |
Tyler Ennis |
Syracuse
|
41,299
|
37,827
|
3,472
|
|
10
|
Magic* |
Elfrid Payton |
UL-Lafayette
|
7,177
|
3,762
|
3,415
|
|
30
|
Spurs |
Kyle Anderson |
UCLA
|
19,248
|
16,004
|
3,244
|
|
21
|
Thunder |
Mitch McGary |
Michigan
|
58,016
|
54,979
|
3,037
|
|
19
|
Nuggets* |
Gary Harris |
Mich. State
|
38,836
|
35,989
|
2,847
|
|
14
|
Suns |
T.J. Warren |
N.C. State
|
23,661
|
21,142
|
2,519
|
|
17
|
Celtics |
James Young |
Kentucky
|
29,729
|
27,545
|
2,184
|
|
26
|
Hornets* |
P.J. Hairston |
NBDL
|
57,893
|
56,057
|
1,836
|
|
15
|
Hawks |
Adreian Payne |
Mich. State
|
66,979
|
65,248
|
1,731
|
|
22
|
Grizzlies |
Jordan Adams |
UCLA
|
7,663
|
6,238
|
1,425
|
|
27
|
Suns |
Bogdan Bogdanovic |
Serbia
|
8,204
|
7,215
|
989
|
|
16
|
Nuggets* |
Jusuf Nurkic |
Bosnia-Herzegovina
|
1,862
|
1,176
|
686
|
|
28
|
Clippers |
C.J. Wilcox |
Washington
|
6,986
|
6,348
|
638
|
|
25
|
Rockets |
Clint Capela |
Switzerland
|
1,597
|
1,056
|
541
|
|
29
|
Thunder |
Josh Huestis |
Stanford
|
3,157
|
3,049
|
108
|
|
20
|
Raptors |
Bruno Caboclo |
Brazil
|
2,734
|
^
|
N/A
|
|
12
|
76ers* |
Dario Saric |
Croatia
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
NOTES: * Reflects the team that acquired the player post-trade.
^ No Twitter follower information available prior to draft.
