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The NBA Red Card report, which was released by
digital marketing agency Mailman on Thursday, measures online
influence using a number of performance metrics including growth
in followers and engagement on Chinese social media platforms.
Warriors, the 2018 champions, claimed the top spot ahead of the
Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors and Boston
Celtics.
Former Toronto Raptors point guard Jeremy Lin, who secured a
move to China's Beijing Ducks this week, was the most popular
player, beating Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Russell Westbrook
and Chris Paul.
The report said the NBA teams gained a cumulative 47 million new
followers on Chinese social media platforms - Weibo, Douyin and
Toutiao - last season.
The NBA has leveraged their marquee players to promote the
league in Asia by sending out the Warriors, Rockets and Lakers
to China over the last three years.
On-court success is not the only factor behind their online
popularity in China as the franchises continue to increase their
engagement levels on the social media websites.
Andrew Collins, CEO of Mailman, believes the NBA's recent move
to allow the franchises to sell international sponsorship
rights, as part of a three-year test, will further boost their
brand in the Chinese markets.
"The NBA is doing a great job in China to grow the sport from
the grassroots and in the communities," Collins said in a
statement.
"Teams and players are taking back control and establishing an
online presence, while the recent sponsorship opening
announcement will give teams more autonomy from the league."
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto
Ganguly)
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