Accountability

Study of social media posts shows LeBron James is ‘most hated’ player in NBA

Published

4 years ago

March 29, 2022

Online sports betting site BetOnline conducted a study scouring social media posts to determine which NBA player is most disliked by users. The overwhelming winner was LeBron James.

Using trends software, BetOnline reviewed Twitter posts for the last 30 days of posts using key phrases such as “I hate [insert player]” or “f— [insert player].” By this methodology, LeBron James is the most hated player in the NBA. The runner up, by a large margin, was Kevin Durant.

While the BetOnline study shows James as the obvious leader in the most hated category, it is still highly likely the NBA star is also the most beloved by fans. Six of the top most-watched NBA games in television history have featured LeBron James, and he continues to top jersey and merchandise sales, according to NBAStore.com.

James’ support from fans, as well as his alienation of some of them, has seen ups and downs over the years, but has been the topic of conversation in the last year as James has used his platform to speak out on social justice issues.

Terry A. Hurlbut

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Terry A. Hurlbut has been a student of politics, philosophy, and science for more than 35 years. He is a graduate of Yale College and has served as a physician-level laboratory administrator in a 250-bed community hospital. He also is a serious student of the Bible, is conversant in its two primary original languages, and has followed the creation-science movement closely since 1993.