All 30 NBA Twitter (X) Accounts, Ranked For 2023
We ranked the Twitter accounts of all 30 NBA teams, postulating our ranking based on creativity, engagement, and humor.
It's back. If you’re a regular Complex Sports reader, you’re well aware of our annual tradition of ranking the NFL teams’ Twitter (X) accounts from best to worst. We dropped our NFL one this year so it was time to revive our NBA list.
Social media has become a significant part of a franchise's identity whether you believe it or not. While it's used as a marketing tool and another avenue for monetization for some, it's a way for fans to connect with the teams they love. Social media a big part of the NBA's brand now with "NBA Twitter" being so dominant on social media.
This is a yearly reminder that we are well-aware that many teams have different approaches and goals to Twitter. Some franchises demand a buttoned-up tone while others are free to create how they please. Our judgement of accounts is based off fun, creativity, engagement, and ability to stay in the conversation. It's not based off how good the team is but we'll acknowledge that winning teams may have an advantage for the engagement aspect. We counted tweets from the beginning of the 2022 season, including training camp, up until today.
We have not put together an NBA list since 2020 but today that changes. By default, the defending Twitter champs are the Los Angeles Lakers but a lot has changed in three years so the previous list cannot be used a measuring stick.
Our list was curated off feedback from experts in the industry. With all that being said, here are our all 30 NBA Twitter accounts ranked.
30.OKC Thunder
It was a real struggle to find a signature tweet for the Thunder. While they've have some bad teams in the past, there's no excuse to not take advantage of a young team with a star like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Shai is a social media star especially in the fashion space and the team has been crowned as the next up-and-coming squad. It's time to change the tone on Twitter because people will be watching this year.
29.Charlotte Hornets
You can't have LaMelo Ball on your roster and not be creative on Twitter. Yes, he was out with injury but if you add LaMelo to fact that Michael Jordan was also your owner at one point, there's really no excuse to not have some type of creativity. The biggest tweet for the Hornets in the past year was them tweeting a score to a Summer League game.
28.Detroit Pistons
It's hard to create when your team is losing almost every game. It's simple as that. It becomes even tougher when your young star player is out for the season. This isn't really a knock on the Pistons social team as this is a situation that's tough to overcome.
27.Houston Rockets
The Rockets had their struggles last year but the social team will have something to work with this year. From the polarizing figures like Dillon Brooks to a rising star in Jalen Green, the Rockets have some personalities on their roster. There are also hidden gems like Tari Eason, who we know pretty well. With a young team like this, you got to find ways to connect with your Twitter audience.
26.Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are another franchise that will always have great engagement with a whole country behind them. They've been OK but they can give us a bit more on Twitter. You have the Drake references and plenty of material in front of you. Yes, the team hasn't been great the past year but there's still plenty of material to play with.
25.San Antonio Spurs
It's very simple for the Spurs. Last year, they were the worst team in the NBA. This year, they have Wemby. For a franchise that is usually dry and boring, this is an opportunity to inject life into your fanbase and break out of that robotic social approach.
24.Washington Wizards
If the Wizards plan was to post as many pics and videos of Jordan Poole with an annoyed face as possible, it was a great plan for engagement. Those tweets were their biggest engagement plays of the season. Other than that, there wasn't much in terms of content for them this year and that's also due to the fact the team stunk.
23.Cleveland Cavaliers
The biggest highlight from the Cavs last season was Donovan Mitchell's 71-point game. The Cavs had a solid night of coverage on Twitter for that. Beyond that, it was fairly quiet for a team that was near the top of the East for most of the season. In addition to that you have a fairly marketable star in Donovan Mitchell with a rising stud in Darius Garland.
22.Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have the brightest young star in the game in Anthony Edwards. While they're not in the biggest market, you have one of the most marketable players in the NBA. Karl-Anthony Towns is another athlete with a high profile. We need more creativity from them this year.
21.Utah Jazz
The Jazz had to adjust to life without Donovan Mitchell. They were quieter than they have been in the past but still had a couple of nice Twitter moments. They're not the flashiest roster or organization but there are definitely some players to key in on for creativity especially Jordan Clarkson.
20.Indiana Pacers
The Pacers' roster and Twitter account have untapped potential. The Pacers will be an entertaining team this year led by an All-Star in Tyrese Haliburton on the roster. On Twitter, they've showed flashes of great . With more eyes on them this season, we'll see how they respond.
19.Portland Trail Blazers
We can address the elephant in the room. Damian Lillard is not a Blazer anymore. Losing the greatest player in franchise history will always be tough for all parties involved but Portland still has plenty of young talent to create great content with in the future. The Blazers were well-prepared for Lillard's exit and the content they dropped was heartwarming. Their videos of the new players arriving were great pieces of content as well.
18.Los Angeles Clippers
It's a bit surprising that the Lakers are a bit less buttoned-up than the Clippers when it comes to the creative content with their stars. Obviously there are different guidelines for different teams and the Clippers' stars are usually sidelined with injury, but even on Twitter, there is too much star power on that team to not play to your audience a bit more with creativity. Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard are all engagement movers. While photos and highlights are great, there's untapped potential with creative assets and playful tweets.
17.Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks have two of the biggest stars in the world in Kyrie and Luka with a worldwide celeb in Mark Cuban running their team. They could definitely have a little bit more fun on Twitter but with a full season ahead, we expect them to make that jump.
16.Phoenix Suns
The Suns will be one of the most-watched teams in 2023. They'll have the national spotlight every week. With the amount of star power in Phoenix, it'll open an avenue to flourish on social media. While not everything has to be a meme, we need more creativity than we'veseen in the past for a team with worldwide celebrities in KD and Book. The pressure will be on the Suns in every aspect of the organization.
15.Denver Nuggets
For a team that won the NBA Title, we needed more from the Nuggets. The final score graphics, videos, and photos of the celebration were cool but it felt like the Nuggets didn't fully take advantage of that moment as well as they could've. While Jokic isn't necessarily a media guy, there were ways to play off the doubters more or even beating the Lakers in four. We understand every one's goals are different but this was a chance to GO OFF!
14.Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks keep things simple for the most part but they're really good at showcasing the personality of Giannis when it comes to videos. With Damian Lillard in town now, there will be a multitude of opportunities to create and build engagement. We'll need more from them this year.
13.Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are another team that has the luxury of high engagement regardless of their situation because of the strong success they've had in the past as a franchise. Twitter wise, the Warriors don't do anything particularly special but they don't have any true flaws. That's why they're perfect in the middle of this list. Even though they don't go above and beyond in creativity, they know how to play off their stars including Steph Curry.
12.Sacramento Kings
LIGHT THE BEAM! The Kings' "light the beam" slogan took over the NBA world last season and the Kings social team definitely took advantage. The Kings are usually higher on our list but we need their clapbacks to return. The beef with the Lakers fans was funny when they weren't winning games so it would be even funnier now that the Kings are good again.
11.Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are very underrated when it comes to content and having fun online. You may not follow them or have any interest in following them because they're not a high profile team but those that have followed their account have seen the work they put in. They're not going to go viral all the time even if their content is elite because of low interest (for now) in their team but that hasn't stopped them from putting out great content. Their schedule release might've been the best in the NBA.
10.Brooklyn Nets
It's hard for a content team when you lose James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving in a span of a year but the Brooklyn Nets have sneakily been better in the post-Big 3 era. Their creativity has been great and they've showed the personalities of all their players. It'll be interesting to see what they could with a team that should have the same vibes of their 2018-19 team.
9.Boston Celtics
We did have to penalize the Celtics for their postgame tweet last night but overall, they've improved over the years on actually having a voice and having fun. Yes, it's a historic franchise but you have a youthful team with two of yours stars just entering their primes. Have fun.
8.New Orleans Pelicans
It's hard to to maximize your engagement and content when both of your All-Stars miss most of the season due to injury but the Pelicans were still great. They might've ended top 3 if they had Zion for a whole year because their content to begin last season was terrific. Their war with media members claiming they pump in crowd noise was hilarious. They posted Zion throwing a football when D'Angelo Russell said he plays football on the court. Those moments are what makes Twitter great.
7.New York Knicks
The New York Knicks have come a long way on and off the court with their voice on social media. A few years ago, everything used to be cut and dry with no flavor or voice. Today, they embrace being one of the most popular franchises in basketball, they embrace being a team from New York, and it reflects in their tweets.
6.Chicago Bulls
When it comes to graphics and in-game photos, the Bulls may be at the top of the game. Everything just pops out on the timeline when you scroll. It could be the win final graphics or the MJ original pieces, everything comes out fire. They have a lot of fun too. We can't forget all the Diar DeRozan content. It was a great way to take advantage of an unexpected moment. Mic'ing up G Herbo was a great content as well.
5.Los Angeles Lakers
There's no denying that the Lakers have the biggest fan base in basketball and their engagement will always be high but that won't invalidate the great content they put out. It definitely helps having one of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball on your team as well but the Lakers are great at showcasing the personalities of their stars and doing fun things like giving each player a flick before a flight. You also have to factor in their in-game highlights from the arena. Even without the memes, you don't have to be a Lakers fan to enjoy their feed.
4.Philadelphia Sixers
The Sixers have been elite in this Twitter game for a long time and during Joel Embiid’s MVP campaign, they continued to shine. From their behind the scenes moments like Harden gifting Embiid a rolex to their creative memes, the Sixers delivered great content every week on Twitter.
3.Miami Heat
The Miami Heat rarely miss. There’s too many examples of great content to choose from but they’re an NBA account EVERYONE should be following. From the “Winning” memes to amplifying Jimmy Butler’s theatrics, they always keep the feed fun regardless of whether they win or not.
2.Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks are quietly one of the most entertaining accounts in the league. They will go at anyone whether provoked or not. Just ask the Miami Marlins and DJ Khaled. They integrate trending topics in their content and showcase the pride of being an Atlanta team.
1.Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies aren’t the most popular franchise so their social presence may not get the respect they deserve but they’ve been elite for several years especially when it comes to Twitter. They don’t hold back on creativity, they keep receipts (see the Shannon Sharpe example), and they always keep up with what’s trending in pop culture and music. They embody Memphis culture with their online presence and that’s exactly what you need from a smaller market team. They’ve also played off the fact the team has had a youthful roster of late.
