All four teams remaining in the NBA playoffs are either looking to win their first championship ever or their first title in many years. NBA players are some of the most followed athletes on social media. However, interestingly, none of the top-25 most-followed players on Instagram are still competing in the NBA playoffs.
NBA’s Final Four Has No Players on Instagram Top-25 Most Followed List
The playoffs are down to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, and Indiana Pacers. Of those teams, the Thunder leads the way with 6.1 million Instagram followers on the team’s account. New York is next with 4.4 million, followed by Minnesota with 4 million and Indiana with 3.3 million.
NBA players have become massive celebrities, with more followers than many influencers, movie stars, and musicians. Four NBA players have over 20 million Instagram followers, and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James leads the way with a whopping 159.7 million followers.
James is arguably the most well-known athlete in the world, branching out beyond the NBA by acting in movies, creating a production company, and producing music.
Sportico’s Lev Akabas recently posted a list of the top-25 most-followed NBA players on Instagram — all of whom have been eliminated from the postseason.
Incredible fact: 0 of the top 25 most-followed NBA players on Instagram are in the Conference Finals pic.twitter.com/ENge5rJDRV
— Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas)
“Incredible fact: 0 of the top 25 most-followed NBA players on Instagram are in the Conference Finals,” he posted. The NBA’s official account would rank second on this list with 90.7 million followers, putting James’ massive follower count in perspective.
Stephen Curry (58.1 million followers), Russell Westbrook (22.9 million followers), Kyrie Irving (20.3 million followers), and Lonzo Ball (18.1 million followers) round out the top five. Other than Ball, the top five have been in the NBA since at least 2011, so they’ve had many more years to build their following compared to some of the younger players still in the postseason.
Of the players still competing in the playoffs, the most-followed are Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards (4.8 million followers), New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns (4.3 million followers), and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (4.1 million followers).
Gilgeous-Alexander was named the NBA MVP after leading the league in points (32.7), field goal attempts (21.8), and free throws made (7.9) per game. After winning his first MVP award and leading the Thunder on a deep postseason run, his follower count should continue to increase.
Edwards took his game to the next level this season, averaging 27.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. The three-time All-Star has MVP potential and could become the next face of the league.
Towns has been great in his first season with New York. He’s averaged 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, while shooting 52.6% from the field. Towns helped the Knicks reach the Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.
The Knicks’ best player, Jalen Brunson, shockingly has just 848,000 Instagram followers. The seven-year guard has been incredibly clutch this year for New York, averaging 26.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game.
Indiana’s most important player, Tyrese Haliburton, has just 1.3 million Instagram followers. He has stepped up his game in the playoffs after averaging 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 9.2 assists in the regular season.
Each of the players still competing should get a nice bump in followers after their season ends, and a championship would likely boost their numbers even higher. All four remaining teams are focused on getting to the next round, but a significant bump in followers is a nice perk of advancing to the NBA Finals.