Ranking the Most Loved NBA teams

A new report from Betway reveals the most popular NBA teams.

The Chicago Bulls are the most loved NBA team in the league.

The LA Lakers are the most followed team having over 52 million followers across all social media platforms.

Major league sports leagues are followed by millions of dedicated fans across America, whether it’s NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, or MLS. But which teams are the most loved around the US, and which has the most significant reach on social media?

A new report from Betway reveals the most popular NBA team across the US. Through social listening, all major league teams were analyzed to highlight the ones with the most positive online sentiment throughout the last 12 months.

Additionally, through analyzing social media data, Betway has created a social media power ranking, giving the teams with a voice something to shout about.

The Chicago Bulls Dominate Around the US.

The team, which has homed legends such as Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, takes the crown as the most loved NBA team online. The Bulls scored a massive 20.80% likeability score throughout the last 12 months.

The 2022 NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors, come in a close second. Having players on their roster like Steph Curry, it’s no surprise the team has been ranking high in likeability throughout the last 12 months.

Despite coming in last place in the Eastern Conference, having only 22 wins, the Orlando Magic came in 3^rd on the list with a 16.3% likeability score. The Knicks (16.1%) and Bucks (15.6%) make up the top five.

The table below ranks the NBA teams based on popularity:

Rank	Team	% sentiment	Total Following
1	Chicago Bulls	20.80%	30,435,628
2	Golden State Warriors	19.10%	48,149,619
3	Orlando Magic	16.30%	6,161,629
4	New York Knicks	16.10%	11,755,482
5	Milwaukee Bucks	15.60%	10,288,717
6	Denver Nuggets	15.50%	5,618,580
7	LA Lakers	14.90%	52,321,433
8	Sacramento Kings	14.80%	10,624,663
9	Phoenix Suns	14.60%	6,479,573
10	Utah Jazz	13.80%	8,164,010
11	San Antonio Spurs	13.30%	14,554,210
12	Memphis Grizzlies	13.10%	5,430,199
13	Oklahoma City Thunder	12.30%	14,379,492
14	Dallas Mavericks	11.80%	10,535,695
15	Boston Celtics	11.20%	19,952,367
16	New Orleans Pelicans	10.40%	6,016,902
17	Miami Heat	10.10%	25,825,318
18	Houston Rockets	9.89%	25,544,036
19	LA Clippers	9.40%	10,709,842
20	Detroit Pistons	9.25%	4,443,090
21	Brooklyn Nets	9.19%	9,902,212
22	Toronto Raptors	8.63%	8,798,856
23	Atlanta Hawks	8.30%	5,635,700
24	Cleveland Cavaliers	8.01%	23,853,389
25	Portland Trail Blazers	7.06%	7,117,111
26	Philadelphia 76ers	6.81%	7,925,637
27	Minnesota Timberwolves	5.26%	5,790,088
28	Indiana Pacers	5.09%	6,768,683
29	Washington Wizards	3.95%	8,209,114
30	Charlotte Hornets	3.41%	5,802,049

The NBA’s Social Media Power Ranking

With 17 championships under their belt, the LA Lakers sit comfortably at the top of the list as the most followed NBA team with 52 million followers! In fact, the Lakers have the highest Facebook following (over 21.5 million) and take the crown as the most followed team on Twitter.

The Warriors are known for their massive following on the ‘gram and have almost 4 million more followers than their rivals in the NBA. The Warriors have also utilized TikTok the most, taking the crown as the most followed TikTokers in the NBA. Overall, they’re ranking second in Betway’s social media power ranking list with a total of 48,149,618 online followers.

Trailing behind in 3rd and 4th place are the Bulls and the Heats, who both have a following of over 25 million.

Methodology

To determine the teams with the most positive online sentiment, we used the Linkfluence social listening tool that crawls data on mentions across the internet from the past 12 months.

From then, we ranked the teams based on who’s most positively talked about online.

Data accurate as of 06/21/2022