In a study of social media growth for NBA teams over the last three years, the Bulls narrowly edged the Heat and Lakers for most new fans across Facebook and Twitter. Those franchises distanced themselves considerably from the rest of the NBA with each adding at least 12 million new combined fans. The Thunder and Knicks rounded out the top five with more than five million new fans each. The Lakers continue to be the most popular global brand with over 25 million combined fans. The Jazz have added the fewest new fans in this time frame. The official NBA Facebook page and Twitter feed have a combined 37.8 million fans, up almost 25 million since three years ago when they had 13.5 million combined. On Instagram, the success of the LeBron James era with the Heat likely led to its top ranking with more than 1.5 million followers. The Lakers, Bulls and Knicks are all in the top five along with the Thunder, who carry the banner for small market NBA teams with more than 700,000 followers. The NBA Instagram feed has nearly 3.8 million followers.
|
COMBINED TWITTER FOLLOWERS/FACEBOOK LIKES FOR NBA TEAMS
|
|
RK
|
TEAM |
OCTOBER '11
|
OCTOBER '14
|
3-YEAR GAINS
|
|
1
|
Bulls |
3,886,901
|
18,244,801
|
14,357,900
|
|
2
|
Heat |
4,377,726
|
18,582,092
|
14,204,366
|
|
3
|
Lakers |
12,700,741
|
25,321,889
|
12,621,148
|
|
4
|
Thunder |
734,095
|
6,016,724
|
5,282,629
|
|
5
|
Knicks |
1,323,345
|
6,465,498
|
5,142,153
|
|
6
|
Spurs |
1,027,202
|
5,917,576
|
4,890,374
|
|
7
|
Celtics |
5,647,454
|
10,148,063
|
4,500,609
|
|
8
|
Clippers |
150,854
|
3,413,408
|
3,262,554
|
|
9
|
Pacers |
146,366
|
3,043,572
|
2,897,206
|
|
10
|
Warriors |
306,004
|
2,981,750
|
2,675,746
|
|
11
|
Nets |
211,650
|
2,775,533
|
2,563,883
|
|
12
|
Rockets |
475,063
|
3,010,550
|
2,535,487
|
|
13
|
Mavericks |
1,880,203
|
4,342,580
|
2,462,377
|
|
14
|
Cavaliers |
848,709
|
2,926,494
|
2,077,785
|
|
15
|
Trail Blazers |
367,548
|
2,047,100
|
1,679,552
|
|
16
|
Magic |
2,129,841
|
3,693,380
|
1,563,539
|
|
17
|
Raptors |
309,198
|
1,817,913
|
1,508,715
|
|
18
|
Grizzlies |
160,903
|
1,507,134
|
1,346,231
|
|
19
|
Nuggets |
699,226
|
2,016,535
|
1,317,309
|
|
20
|
T'Wolves |
143,740
|
1,435,375
|
1,291,635
|
|
21
|
Suns |
680,619
|
1,891,987
|
1,211,368
|
|
22
|
76ers |
230,871
|
1,387,063
|
1,156,192
|
|
23
|
Pistons |
401,138
|
1,542,434
|
1,141,296
|
|
24
|
Hornets |
107,367
|
1,234,574
|
1,127,207
|
|
25
|
Kings |
190,483
|
1,241,576
|
1,051,093
|
|
26
|
Pelicans |
230,715
|
1,246,885
|
1,016,170
|
|
27
|
Hawks |
220,895
|
1,214,036
|
993,141
|
|
28
|
Wizards |
149,398
|
1,050,818
|
901,420
|
|
29
|
Bucks |
201,966
|
1,060,829
|
858,863
|
|
30
|
Jazz |
327,155
|
1,120,466
|
793,311
|
|
NBA INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS AS OF OCTOBER '14
|
| TEAM |
FOLLOWERS
|
TEAM |
FOLLOWERS
|
| Heat |
1,562,524
|
Mavericks |
159,583
|
| Lakers |
1,320,497
|
Hornets |
158,394
|
| Thunder |
704,313
|
Nuggets |
157,933
|
| Bulls |
673,041
|
Kings |
146,895
|
| Knicks |
618,973
|
76ers |
141,782
|
| Celtics |
595,567
|
Wizards |
125,396
|
| Clippers |
460,372
|
Bucks |
122,896
|
| Spurs |
429,461
|
Pistons |
122,297
|
| Warriors |
407,886
|
Pelicans |
116,059
|
| Cavaliers |
398,250
|
Suns |
112,581
|
| Pacers |
361,051
|
Magic |
102,518
|
| Rockets |
327,705
|
Grizzlies |
91,281
|
| Nets |
247,865
|
T'Wolves |
88,709
|
| Trail Blazers |
188,607
|
Jazz |
88,359
|
| Raptors |
173,173
|
Hawks |
87,888
|
