The Warriors’ worldwide allure was "on display all last week in Japan, where they spent five days and played two weekend exhibition games," according to Madeline Kenney of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. The Warriors’ global popularity has "skyrocketed with their dominance" over the last eight years. The team "lead the league in combined social media following" and have "nearly 26 million Instagram followers." They have found ways to "capitalize on their championship era, expanding their international reach by merging basketball with pop culture and music." A prime example of that crossover came last season with F Andrew Wiggins’ selection to the All-Star Game where he "had worthy statistics," but he "won the fans’ vote with the help of a social-media campaign" involving K-Pop star BamBam who the Warriors contracted with as a brand ambassador early this year. More recently, the Warriors have "gained social media attention" by associating with BTS member Suga. As the team and the league "continue their quest for international growth," it is "likely the Warriors will be globetrotting again in the not-so-distant future" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 10/5).
Warriors have one of the top international followings in the NBA, having been able to merge basketball with pop cultureGetty Images
