Stephen Curry is clearly way ahead of every other NBA player, including LeBron James, when it comes to video content engagement.
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LeBron James ruled over the domain of NBA player popularity with an iron fist for a decade-and-a-half now. The King was the darling of every basketball fan during his first Cleveland spell, with everyone rooting for his success.
However, things have changed in recent times as his degree of success has also suffered a sharp dip. In the past 4 years, LeBron James has only won 1 championship and that was his solitary Finals appearance.
When James would make his yearly trip to the NBA Finals for 8 straight years, there was absolutely no question about 2 things – who the best player in the world is, and who the most popular player in the world is. He was himself the answer to both questions.
However, there are at least 4 players ahead of him in the ‘best player in the world’ conversation now. And his social media engagement also seems to be plateauing/declining as his 37 years of age begin catching up on court.
Stephen Curry has generated 272 million views more than LeBron James this season
Most sports fans begin watching a new sport as bandwagon fans, just for a taste of success. It doesn’t matter what origin story anyone gives you for their fandom – ultimately it boils down to gloryhunting.
This trend has seen MJ, then Shaq, then Kobe, then LeBron and now Steph lead the league’s popularity charts. You know the one thing common to all of these players? They’re all multiple-ring owners, core pieces of dynastic championship runs.
That’s 17812039% of the reason why Curry is now the most sought-after player on NBA social media. Alex Kennedy of basketballnews.com shared a graphic which illustrates how ahead of his competition Stephen Curry is.
Which NBA players have generated the most video views across the @NBA’s socials?
The gap between Stephen Curry and everyone else is pretty wild. pic.twitter.com/rXRicGtKNU
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) March 3, 2022
It seems that the Warriors will be a great team even after Stephen Curry suffers a decline. His Warriors team has been among the West’s top seeds for quite a while now this year.