The Carmelo Trade and Social Media

Last week, in one the biggest NBA trades this season, the New York Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets.  This trade changed the face of both franchises in many ways.  In particular, it has been interesting to see how social media fans of both teams responded to the trade.

New York Knicks- Rich get richer

Immediately after the trade was announced, the New York Knicks had noticeable changes in social media following.  In the week since the trade, the Knicks have had 36,914 new Facebook fans (8.5% increase) and 9,261 new Twitter followers (14.8% increase).

This graph shows a clear spike when the trade was announced (marked by the orange line).

It makes sense that teams with big name players draw large social media followings.  The Miami Heat, for example, saw the largest Facebook and Twitter growth of any NBA team over the past year (Source).  What about the other teams, though?  What happens to the teams that lose all-stars in these blockbuster trades?

Denver Nuggets- Hanging onto fans

Interestingly, many of the teams that lose all-stars, such as the Nuggets, are still very popular on social media sites.  The Nuggets are currently the 9^th most popular team in the NBA in terms of Facebook and Twitter followers.  Granted, the trade was only a few days ago, but their following did not drop at all in those few days.  Perhaps a better example is the Cleveland Cavaliers, who, despite having the worst record in the league and losing LeBron James more than 6 months ago, are still 6^th most popular team in the NBA.  These teams have hung onto their digital fan base, despite losing their all-stars. 

The Carmelo trade shows that fans are quick to “Like” or follow the all-star-filled teams, but surprisingly enough, they support the player’s old team as well.  As big name players move to fewer and fewer teams, there is still hope, at least from a social media perspective, for small market teams.