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Steph Curry, LeBron James and Ja Morant are three of the NBA’s most bankable box-office superstars. A tweet, video clip, comment, or story about them could easily reach millions across various social media platforms.
The holidays are the perfect time for the league to prop up, even more, their most viewed and talked about players. It’s no wonder that the trio and several more will be featured in the NBA’s slate of games for Christmas.
Here are the NBA’s top 5 players with the most views on social media platforms::
Luka Doncic - 210 million views
Luka Doncic gave Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors everything they could handle in the Western Conference finals before bowing out. “Luka Legend” played like he belonged on that stage as he was spectacular for the Dallas Mavericks.
The edge on both ends of the floor was obviously on the side of the Warriors, particularly with the emerging defensive abilities of Andrew Wiggins. Golden State eliminated Dallas in six games but not before the NBA confirmed Doncic’s incredible appeal to basketball fans.
Doncic is putting up MVP numbers this season, a big reason why he’s garnered 200+ million views in roughly three months.
Giannis Antetokounmpo - 215 million
Giannis Antetokounmpo, without Khris Middleton in the lineup, dragged the Boston Celtics to a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. “The Greek Freak” showed why he is a two-time MVP and gave the Celtics headaches on both ends of the floor.
Antetokounmpo’s spectacular series against the NBA’s best defense only solidified his status as a must-see superstar. The two-time MVP has been dominating the league for a couple of years and has been judged by ESPN in a preseason poll as the best player in the league.
The Christmas Day games were likely to include the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is on another MVP-type campaign.
LeBron James - 268 million
LeBron James has 52.5 million followers on Twitter and 140 million on Instagram, dwarfing those of Steph Curry and the rest of the names on this list. It’s a big surprise that he only has 268 million views this season.
Whatever the case may be, the LA Lakers will be playing their 24th straight Christmas Day game. LeBron James will be playing his 17th, which will break a tie with the late Kobe Bryant for most by a player.
“King James” is the all-time leading scorer in Christmas Day games. The NBA would have been insane to leave him out, particularly as his career winds down.
Ja Morant - 351 million
Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies will battle Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors on December 25. It will be the Grizzlies and Morant’s Christmas Day game debut.
The Grizzlies were eliminated by the Warriors in a thrilling but heated Western Conference semifinal series. After Golden State won the title, Klay Thompson took a shot at Jaren Jackson Jr.’s comments about the Warriors.
Ja Morant trolled Thompson’s reply, which eventually earned a pushback from Draymond Green. Morant and Green went at it about playing on Christmas, which just makes sense for the NBA and both teams.
Morant has also become a social media giant. His dunk against the Minnesota Timberwolves alone generated 44 million views.
Steph Curry - 485 million
The NBA’s social media king has garnered 485 million views so far. Last season, including his appearance in the championship series, Steph Curry earned 1.4 billion views, nearly twice as many as Ja Morant’s 791 million.
As the defending champs, the Golden State Warriors were guaranteed an appearance in the Christmas Day games. But had they not won the title, Steph Curry’s unmatched drawing power would have been enough for the Warriors to play on Christmas.
The NBA projected right when it released its schedule just before the season started. They have tabbed the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers to open the Christmas games.
ESPN and ABC will then cover the LA Lakers versus Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks against the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies versus Golden State Warriors.
The Denver Nuggets will host the Phoenix Suns on December 25 to round off the Christmas Day schedule.
BasketballNews full article here
