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NBA

During NBA Free Agency, Twitter’s Most Talked-About Person Wasn’t Even a Player

By
Xavier Harding
Xavier Harding
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By
Xavier Harding
Xavier Harding
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 1, 2019, 5:09 PM ET

National Basketball Association fans were glued to their phone screens Sunday night as all-star players like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were released from their contracts and landed onto new teams. If you’re wondering who NBA Twitter talked about most, though, the answer is neither. It wasn’t even someone who plays basketball.

During the NBA’s free agency frenzy, Twitter was aflutter with talk of none other than ESPN’s Adrian “Woj” Wojnarowski. Woj was mentioned the absolute most, above any of the league’s actual players, according to anecdotal evidence on Twitter.

The most Tweeted about person in the #NBATwitter community today was @wojespn. The top Tweeted moment of the night was when @wojespn Tweeted that Kevin Durant was planning to sign with the Brooklyn Nets.

— Jen Santamaria (@jensantamaria) July 1, 2019

If you’re wondering why a reporter was talked about more than Durant, Irving, or the poor, poor New York Knicks, it’s due to Wojnarowski’s scoops. Woj broke the news that Kevin Durant would be headed to the Brooklyn Nets and that they’d also receive Kyrie Irving and Deandre Jordan. Woj had even more NBA free agency details, including how much each player will be paid, if it came with a player option and who might be getting a contract extension.

Wojnarowski may even be too good at getting information first. Some NBA free agency fans on Twitter commented on the series’ no tampering rules, which prevents teams from courting players before their contract is up. Yet, the moment 6 p.m. Eastern arrived, Wojnarowski’s Twitter feed has plethora of information regarding trades happening this season.

Other choice stats included the most tweeted about team, (the Knicks), the most tweeted emoji (the laughing with tears face), of course, the most tweeted about player (Kevin Durant). Surprisingly, though, the topic of NBA free agency is more popular than most actual games. According to @TwitterSports (via Front Office Sports), NBA free agency saw more tweets than every other NBA game this season, except for the last two games of the 2019 finals.

Brooklyn may have won the free agency, but for one evening, Woj won Twitter.

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About the Author
By Xavier Harding
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