NBA Teams Popularity
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California is miles ahead of the rest when it comes to NBA Teams popularity, with two of its four franchises strongly leading the rankings (spoiler alert, the Sacramento Kings don't take one of these spots!).
When looking at popularity data for NBA teams, the recent success of a team seems to be a stronger indicator of popularity than either legacy or geography. With six of the last eight NBA Championship finals being contested by the Golden State Warriors, it's no surprise that they sit on top of popularity rankings.
Historical success, however, is still a relatively important indicator of popularity. The three most successful NBA teams; The LA Lakers (17 championships), The Boston Celtics (18 championships ) & the Chicago Bulls (6 championships) all appear in the top five of the list.
Star players can also have a big impact on an NBA teams popularity. When four-time MVP LeBron James was traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the LA Lakers for the 2018-19 season it boosted the Californian teams popularity and moved them up into 2nd place on the table.
Four of the five least popular teams are based in smaller markets; Orlando, Denver, Salt Lake City & Memphis and have not won a single championship between them. The outlier among this group at the bottom is the Detroit Pistons - a storied franchise with x3 championship wins but a rank of only 28th on the popularity table. However, their lack of popularity may have more to do with the declining population in the city than a pure lack of interest in the team among its remaining residents?
| # | NBA Team | Instagram Followers | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 32,400,000 | 7 |
| 2 | LA Lakers | 24,600,000 | 17 |
| 3 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 16,600,000 | 1 |
| 4 | Chicago Bulls | 10,100,000 | 6 |
| 5 | Boston Celtics | 8,300,000 | 18 |
| 6 | Miami Heat | 6,700,000 | 3 |
| 7 | Houston Rockets | 6,300,000 | 2 |
| 8 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 6,000,000 | 1 |
| 9 | Milwaukee Bucks | 5,500,000 | 2 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Clippers | 5,300,000 | 0 |
| 11 | San Antonio Spurs | 5,200,000 | 5 |
| 12 | Brooklyn Nets | 4,800,000 | 0 |
| 13 | Dallas Mavericks | 4,500,000 | 1 |
| 14 | Philadelphia 76ers | 4,400,000 | 3 |
| 15 | Toronto Raptors | 4,100,000 | 1 |
| 16 | New York Knicks | 4,100,000 | 2 |
| 17 | Phoenix Suns | 3,600,000 | 0 |
| 18 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 3,600,000 | 0 |
| 19 | Indiana Pacers | 3,200,000 | 0 |
| 20 | Portland Trailblazers | 2,900,000 | 1 |
| 21 | New Orleans Pelicans | 2,800,000 | 0 |
| 22 | Denver Nuggets | 2,800,000 | 1 |
| 23 | Atlanta Hawks | 2,600,000 | 1 |
| 24 | Charlotte Hornets | 2,400,000 | 0 |
| 25 | Sacramento Kings | 2,200,000 | 1 |
| 26 | Memphis Grizzlies | 2,000,000 | 0 |
| 27 | Orlando Magic | 1,900,000 | 0 |
| 28 | Washington Wizards | 1,500,000 | 1 |
| 29 | Detroit Pistons | 1,500,000 | 3 |
| 30 | Utah Jazz | 1,400,000 | 0 |