NBA Becomes First Sports League to Hit One Billion Social Media Followers

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has become the first professional sports league to reach one billion followers on social media.

The measure includes all league, team and player accounts across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and Tencent and Sina in China.

12-time All-Star LeBron James is the most followed athlete in the league at more than 66 million likes and followers. Kobe Bryant, set to play in his final All-Star Game, is second at 33.7 million. Kevin Durant (28.8 million), Dwyane Wade (22.1 million) and Carmelo Anthony (15.9 million) round out the top-5. Perhaps it's because Steph Curry is relatively new to the game, but he's sixth just behind Anthony. A few more years of dominance, not to mention podium appearances from Riley Curry, should change that.And from a team perspective? Rejoice, Lakers (28.3 million), Bulls (22.5 million) and Heat (21.6 million) fans. Your teams win the social media race