Coming off of a championship series loss versus the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers boldly restructured their entire team midway through the 2017-18 season. The Cavaliers ended up trading six players and a first-round pick across three transactions. While media outlets have spent countless hours debating how these moves affect the Cavaliers’ championship potential, our team decided to analyze the new social media landscape in Cleveland.
We examined the social media followings of the Cleveland Cavaliers to see who attracts the most attention off the court. LeBron James seems like an obvious pick to lead the team with his larger-than-life presence, but how do newcomers like Jordan Clarkson affect the team’s internal battle? Continue reading to see which Cavaliers hold the strongest online following.
The King Reigns Supreme
With nearly 100 million Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook followers, James is the most followed Cavalier by a margin of nearly 93 million followers. On the court, LeBron is a 14-time All-Star, four-time MVP, and three-time NBA champion. However, LeBron also receives a lot of attention for his political activism when off it. LeBron uses these platforms to preach equality, and his tweets are known for being politically charged. Most notable is his tweet referring to President Trump as a “bum,” which was the most retweeted post of 2017.
👀🤦🏾♂️💪🏾😤🤷🏾♂️🙏🏾👑 https://t.co/DINaYlCTqi
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 16, 2018
The next most followed Cavalier is Kevin Love, who arrived in Cleveland in 2014 via a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Love was sidelined in February for a broken hand during the 2017-18 season, but that hasn’t prevented him from keeping up with his social media fan base. Love’s passion for clothing is on full display as he regularly poses in outfits from his collaboration with Banana Republic.
With 4.3 million followers, even without a Facebook account, J.R. Smith is the third most followed Cavalier. The 3-point specialist has gotten himself into some hot water online in the past, as his social media posts tend to differ from the typical athlete account. While many athletes develop professional relationships or personal brands on their profiles, Smith’s account is laden with humor on top of the usual player and family tributes. Smith tried to garner the attention of the public face of “NBA2K,” Ronnie 2K, with his gaming skill.
Crunch Time
If Cleveland hopes to return to the NBA Finals and avenge last season’s defeat, they’ll have to lock in for the remainder of the season. Regardless of how they finish the season, any team led by James will be a social media powerhouse. If you want to look like any of the in-game pictures these stars post, pick up their official merchandise at Fanatics!
Sources
- https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2018/2/8/16991762/cavaliers-trades-list-isaiah-thomas-george-hill-rodney-hood
- http://www.nba.com/history/season-recap-index
- https://www.si.com/nba/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers-social-political-activism
- https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jamesle01.html
- https://247sports.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/Bolt/WATCH-Kevin-Love-working-his-way-back-from-broken-hand–115705245
- http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/11397368/kevin-love-traded-minnesota-timberwolves-cleveland-cavaliers
- http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/05/jr-smiths-greatest-social-media-moments/you-want-the-pipe
- https://www.si.com/nba/2017/09/26/ronnie-2k-interview-nba-NBA2K
