The Los Angeles Lakers are “the most influential” basketball team in the NBA, according to a report by ticketing platform TicketSource.
The study also found L.A. as the second most influential sports team in the world, behind soccer club Manchester United but ahead of the New York Yankees in third.
TicketSource prepared the list by analyzing each franchise’s following on social media platforms — Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. It also took into consideration the number of Wikipedia page views and Google searches between Sept. 2020 – Aug. 2020.
After summing up the results, the Lakers topped the list of the NBA’s most influential teams with a score of 8.74/10, beating the Golden State Warriors (6.54) in second and the Miami Heat (5.57) in third.
L.A. didn’t give other teams a chance in the number of Twitter (10,000,000) and Facebook (21,657,521) followers as well as annual Wikipedia page views (2,966,322). However, Los Angeles came second in the number of Instagram followers (17,400,000, behind Golden State’s 18,600,000) and seventh in annual Google searches (12,907,000).
Still, none of the American franchises could compete with Manchester United’s results. The English soccer club registered figures three to four times higher in each category.
TicketSource found Warriors superstar Stephen Curry to be the NBA’s most influential player, ahead of the Brooklyn Nets duo: Kevin Durant and James Harden. Interestingly, no current Laker made the list — although L.A.’s former guard Lonzo Ball, who now plays for the Chicago Bulls, ranked 10th.
Only followers on Instagram, Twitter, and Google searches were analyzed for the players’ list.
Most influential teams in the NBA
Los Angeles Lakers, 8.74
Golden State Warriors, 6.54
Miami Heat, 5.57
Chicago Bulls, 4.58
Boston Celtics, 4.01
Houston Rockets, 3.78
Milwaukee Bucks, 3.33
Cleveland Cavaliers, 3.24
Brooklyn Nets, 2.93
Phoenix Suns, 2.93
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