By the Numbers: NBA on Facebook

As the NBA prepares to tip-off its 2011-12 season, I wanted to take a look at how the league’s teams were faring on Facebook. Check out the chart below. This is by no means an official audit. It’s simply a quick snapshot showing whose “like” buttons have seen the most action to date.

With eight teams – almost one-third of the league – at over 1 million “likes/fans”, the NBA is easily one of the most popular professional sports leagues on social media platforms. This is partly due to the leagues global appeal. NBA teams have also put a lot of effort into communicating with their fans in an authentic and active way.

I decided to dig up the numbers for this blog post after I learned that the Los Angeles Lakers recently became the first North American sports team to surpass 11 million Facebook fans.* That’s a pretty amazing stat. It all adds up when you consider the team plays in a top-tier market, has 16 NBA Championships, a lengthy list of NBA All-Star selections, multiple games broadcast nationally each season, and an internationally diverse roster. Having a strong social media program program (check out what the Phoenix Suns are doing) doesn’t hurt either.

• NOTE: *Only three other sports teams in the world have amassed more Facebook fans than the Los Angeles Lakers: FC Barcelona (23.5 million), Real Madrid (22.3 million) and Manchester United (20.8 million) – all European soccer clubs.