Today sees the release of the sixth edition of the Mailman NBA Red Card: China Digital Performance Index. The report is a comprehensive assessment of the digital performance of NBA teams, players, and legends throughout the year in China. The report also provides a guide to broader NBA digital trends, interests, and insights.
The last 12 months saw the NBA return to CCTV, Kuaishou cement itself as the league’s short video partner, and NBA China double-down on its Corporate Social Responsibility projects across the country. To complement these, the teams, players, and legends of the NBA got creative, delivering high-level original content and campaigns for their fans in China online.
Read & download the report here
The Winners:
🏆 Golden State Warriors is the most popular NBA team online
🏆 Stephen Curry is the most popular NBA star on Weibo
🏆 James Harden is the most popular NBA star on Douyin
🏆 Mo Bamba is the most popular NBA star on Kuaishou
Most Popular NBA Teams Online in China:
🥇 Golden State Warriors
🥈 LA Lakers
🥉 Brooklyn Nets
💡 The Warriors were #1 across all platforms in terms of engagement, showing that when they post, their loyal fanbase is eager to interact. Much of their success can be attributed to the team’s on-court performance in another Championship season. Winning cannot take all the credit though, as the Boston Celtics also reached the NBA Finals, but didn’t crack the top 10 across any of the platforms.
Most Popular NBA Stars on Weibo:
🥇 Stephen Curry
🥈 Klay Thompson
🥉 Derrick Rose
💡 Stephen Curry’s huge fan base continues to engage with his content at impressive rates. Curry’s account is so dominant that his top two posts alone (248K engagements) surpass the season-long engagement total of the next best player account, teammate Klay Thompson, who had 224K total engagements.
Most Popular NBA Stars on Douyin:
🥇 James Harden
🥈 Derrick Rose
🥉 Ja Morant
💡 Harden activated his account in January 2022, but quickly became the most followed NBA player with 2.54M followers by the end of the season (#2 is Klay Thompson with 1.88M followers). His first video gained over 1.3M likes, which shows the overwhelming support fans have for him. He also published China-specific videos, such as a CNY message (over 220K likes) and a pledge to make 13 scholarship donations to students in China (over 150K likes).
Sum Huang, Endeavor China CEO: “The NBA, its teams, and basketball as a whole continue to flourish in China, bringing local communities together, delivering important fitness opportunities, supporting the growth of rural villages, and providing entertainment to millions of fans. The 6th edition of the NBA Red Card report provides key insights and learnings for all sports organisations on how to successfully operate in and support the world’s most populous country.”
Andrew Collins, Mailman CEO: “Kuaishou was the big winner this season as teams grew output by 118% following the partnership as NBA’s new short video official partner. Kuaishou, which owns a large amount of NBA material copyright, launched the "NBA Creation Camp" to open exclusive content to creators, with total video views topping 64B in the first season's partnership.”
Mailman is China’s leading sports digital agency. We exist at the intersection of digital & sports. We help top sports organisations & brands to build sustainable businesses in China, one of the world's most challenging markets. Mailman is part of 160over90, an Endeavor Company.