With the Christmas Day games on the horizon, the NBA has released a list of the 10 most viewed players on their social media channels this season. Six of those players will be in action on December 25, including LeBron James, who sits at the top of the pile.
1. LeBron James – 756M
2. Victor Wembanyama – 508M
3. Stephen Curry – 419M
4. Kevin Durant – 259M
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 259M
6. Luka Doncic – 199M
7. Tyrese Haliburton – 146M
8. James Harden – 146M
9. Chet Holmgren – 122M
10. Jayson Tatum – 118M
Most viewed players on the NBA’s social this season:
1. LeBron James – 756M
2. Victor Wembanyama – 508M
3. Stephen Curry – 419M
4. Kevin Durant – 259M
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 259M
6. Luka Doncic – 199M
7. Tyrese Haliburton – 146M
8. James Harden – 146M
9. Chet Holmgren -…
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 21, 2023
While the number of times the NBA posts about players plays a big factor here, there are still a fair few surprises on this list. For starters, LeBron being over 200 million views clear of everyone is a bit ridiculous. In some ways, it proves he is still the face of the league in his 21st season, which is remarkable.
Victor Wembanyama being second ahead of Stephen Curry is another shock. Wembanyama came into the league with a lot of hype and he has delivered as well, but for him to be ahead of Curry and even Kevin Durant is certainly surprising.
The next surprising bit for some might be Tyrese Haliburton being seventh. A big reason for that would be Haliburton’s exploits at the In-Season Tournament and he really announced himself on the national stage with those exceptional performances.
Another rookie also found himself on here with Chet Holmgren coming in at ninth. Holmgren and Wembanyama have had fabulous campaigns and we look set to have a close battle for Rookie of the Year this season. Neither of the two would be in action on Christmas Day, though, with Haliburton and James Harden also not featuring.
NBA Fans Reacted To The List
Lists like these tend to generate a lot of buzz on social media and that’s exactly what happened here. NBA fans had a wide range of reactions to it.
One says the league won’t be the same once LeBron retires.
League won’t be the same when Lebron retires.
— The Real One (@_PraiseTheXI_) December 21, 2023
A fan was surprised to see Wembanyama so high.
Damn I knew wemby had the hype but sheesh
— Blessing (@bless_gsw) December 21, 2023
One roasted Curry for being passed by Wembanyama.
Curry passed up by a rookie 😭😭😭😭😭
— Pablo (@THELIFEOFPABLOx) December 21, 2023
Ja Morant will get into the top five soon, a fan believes.
Ja will be back in the top 5 in no time 🔥 pic.twitter.com/13DduBoqP8
— Number one Diddy Jaylen Brown hater (@topofgame9886) December 21, 2023
One pointed out that the last three MVP winners didn’t make the list.
Hmm…where are the MVPs for the past 3 years🤔just goes to show you that the voting journalists, media hype and fan interaction/engagement are not one and the same.
— T-Keys2022 (@ASKomolafe) December 21, 2023
It is surprising that both Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic didn’t make the list. You could make an argument that the two of them are once again right at the top in the MVP race, but they don’t seem to have too many eyeballs on them on social media.
Who Was On Top Previously?
For those wondering what these looked like in the past, there were some surprises previously as well. One list was released toward the end of last season, which showed that LeBron was the most-viewed player on the NBA’s social media channels with 1.3 billion views, while Curry was second.
Wembanyama was eighth despite not playing a game in the league at that point while Jordan Poole was ninth. Jokic did make it in at 10th, but there was still no sign of Embiid.
During the 2021-22 season, Curry generated 1.4 billion views and beat out Morant for the title of most viewed social media star. It is a bit interesting that Steph has slid one spot with each passing season. He is close enough to Wembanyama this season to reclaim the second spot, but it’s safe to say neither of these two would be catching LeBron.
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