The NBA Draft according to Twitter 1 min read Peter Robert Casey

The NBA Draft according to Twitter

Their games have been sized up and broken down. They’ve been judged by their height, heart and even hand width.

What the scouts and front offices haven’t dissected in-depth, however, is how the next generation of rookies have performed on Twitter.  That’s where we come in.

Using the Wildfire app, London-based Social Media Strategist Ashley Read and I took the liberty to rank the top 14 Draft prospects based on volume (number of Twitter mentions), their best and worst moments (based on sentiment) and how many impressions they generated across March Madness.

1. Trey Burke PG / 20 years old, Sophomore / 6′ 0″ 180lbs. / Michigan

  • Mentions on Twitter (last 365 days as of 17 June 2013): 845,525
  • Growth of followers (official accounts): N/A … Currently followers 92,036
  • Best moment (based on sentiment): April 5, wins John Wooden
  • Worst moment (based on sentiment): October 31st 2012 - suspended
  • Most talked about Moment: March 30th, victory over Kansas (224,756 mentions)
  • Mentions across MM (March Madness, March 19-April 8): 385,396
  • Impressions across MM: 397,039,236
  • MM highlight: again, victory over Kansas

2. Nerlens Noel C / 19 years old, Freshman / 6′ 11″ 216lbs / Kentucky

3. Mason Plumlee C / 23 years old, Senior / 6’11” 245lbs / Duke

  • Mentions on Twitter: 190,504
  • Growth of followers: N/A … currently 37,092 followers
  • Best moment: Awarded top student-athlete at Duke
  • Worst moment: Plumlee gets a tech for hanging on the rim after a reverse put-back dunk
  • Most talked about Moment: Plumlee stars in win over Ohio State
  • Mentions across MM: 11,398
  • Impressions across MM: 13,654,438

4. Cody Zeller C / 20 years old, Sophomore / 7′ 0″ 240lbs. / Indiana

5. Victor Oladipo SG / 21 years old, Junior / 6′ 5″ 210lbs. / Indiana

  • Mentions on Twitter (last 365 days as of 17 June 2013): 129,132
  • Growth of followers: 8,956 new followers since start of MM. Currently 55,087
  • Best moment: May 15th 
  • Worst moment: Dec 8th, dunk on Terrell Allen (negative sentiment for Allen)
  • Most talked about Moment: Feb 20th, big performance vs. Michigan State 
  • Mentions across MM: 20,251
  • Impressions across MM: 40,584,077 (named First Team All-American)
  • MM highlight: March 24th, big performance and 3pt shot with 14 seconds left to progress through NCAAs

6. Ben McLemore, SG / 20 years old, Freshman / 6′ 4″ 195lbs. / Kansas

7. Michael Carter-Williams PG / 21 years old, Sophomore / 6’5” 175lbs / Syracuse 

  • Mentions on Twitter: 86,843
  • Growth of followers: N/A … currently 26,809
  • Best moment: Named Most Improved Player along with PC’s Kadeem Batts
  • Worst moment: Family’s home is destroyed by a fire
  • Most talked about Moment: Chad Ford has jokes; 10,995 mentions
  • Mentions across MM: 32,243
  • Impressions across MM: 46,832,762

8. Shabazz Muhammad SG / 20 years old, Freshman / 6′ 6″ 223lbs. / UCLA

  • Mentions on Twitter (last 365 days as of 17 June 2013): 74,620
  • Growth of followers (official accounts): 87,652 at start of MM,  now 46,881. Drop appeared to happen around same time as news broke about his age.
  • Best moment (based on sentiment): May 20th, Muhammad says he’s best player in draft
  • Worst moment (based on sentiment): May 31st, father arrested for fraud
  • Most talked about Moment: Nov 77, cleared to play by NCAA  (7,231 mentions)
  • Mentions across MM (march 19-April 8):8,864
  • Impressions across MM: 18,537,006

9. C.J. McCollum PG/SG / 21 years old, Senior / 6′ 3″ 192lbs. / Lehigh

10. Otto Porter SF / 19 years old, Sophomore / 6′ 8″ 200lbs. / Georgetown

11. Alex Len C / 19 years old, Sophomore / 7′ 1″ 255lbs. / Maryland

  • Mentions on Twitter: 36,143
  • Growth of followers: N/A .. currently 1,995 followers
  • Best moment: Pre draft hype … Bobcats impressed by Len 
  • Worst moment (based on sentiment): Poor performance in front of NBA scouts Feb 20th 
  • Most talked about Moment: Declares for draft (3,424 mentions) 
  • Mentions across MM (march 19-April 8): 2,370
  • Impressions across MM: 2,083,626
  • MM highlight: April 3rd – gets dunked on by Melsahn Basabe – 789 mentions

 12. Kelly Olynyk C / 22 years old, Junior / 7’0″ 238lbs / Gonzaga 

  • Mentions on Twitter: 30,322
  • Growth of followers: N/A … currently 8,178
  • Best moment: Olynyk impresses at NBA Combine 
  • Worst moment: Feb 19th – hyped as All-American
  • Most talked about Moment: Big dunk on St .Mary’s (3,057 mentions)
  • Mentions across MM: 12,908
  • Impressions across MM: 29,434,267

13. Anthony Bennett PF / 20 years old, Freshman / 6′ 7″ 239lbs. / UNLV

14. Rudy Gobert PF/C / 20 years old, International / 7′ 1″ 235lbs. / Cholet, France

  • Mentions on Twitter : 6,105
  • Growth of followers:  N/A … currently 3,110 followers
  • Best moment: Same as below – March 16th
  • Worst moment: Jan 3rd, ranking drops in mock draft
  • Most talked about Moment: March 16th, good performance in draft combine
  • Mentions across MM: 181
  • Impressions across MM: 152,477

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Source: hoopspeak.com

The NBA Draft according to Twitter