What a difference a year makes.
On Tuesday, in preparation for its busy slate of Christmas Day games, the NBA released a top-10 list of the most-viewed players across all of its social media platforms this season.
The league did this last year, too. At the time, Dallas Mavericks star player Luka Doncic didn’t appear in the top 10.
Fast forward to this season, and now he’s on top of it.
Mavericks
Doncic is not only the most-viewed player in the NBA after his stunning midseason trade from the Mavs to the LA Lakers, he also has quite a bit of cushion between himself and second place. According to NBA Communications, Doncic clips and highlights account for 845 million views across their platforms so far this season. At No. 2 is Spurs’ center Victor Wembanyama at 708 million. LeBron James, who topped the list in 2024, comes in at No. 4, with a number (641M) over 200 million less than Doncic.
It points to the argument that Doncic, who’s carried the NBA’s most popular franchise to a 19-8 record, is now the most popular player in the league.
That might sting for Mavericks fans, but it’s not all bad: There’s only one rookie in the top 10 most-viewed list, and he plays in Dallas.
Mavericks’ No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg cracked the list at No. 9, ahead of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Flagg highlights have garnered 312 million views so far during his electric rookie season. Not only is Flagg the only rookie on this year’s list, but there weren’t any on last year’s list, either.
Nine of the list of 10 players will be in action on Christmas, including Flagg and the Mavericks. They’re set to take on the Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry, who came in at No. 3 (703M views).
See the full top 10 below.
RankPlayerTeamViews (millions)1Luka DoncicLos Angeles Lakers845M2Victor WembanyamaSan Antonio Spurs708M3Steph CurryGolden State Warriors703M4LeBron JamesLos Angeles Lakers641M5Shai Gilgeous AlexanderOklahoma City Thunder496M6Nikola JokicDenver Nuggets445M7Austin ReavesLos Angeles Lakers409M8Kevin DurantHouston Rockets331M9Cooper FlaggDallas Mavericks312M10Giannis AntetokounmpoMilwaukee Bucks304M
Anthony Davis’ dominant performance against Pelicans spoiled by Mavericks meltdown
Davis posted a 35-point double-double but was unable to pull out the win against his former team.
On Trump’s third term, was Miriam Adelson just trolling?
Mavs owner pledges to donate $250 million to another presidential campaign.
Letters to the Editor — Texas Senate race, RFK Jr., ugly American, Dallas Mavericks
Readers wish more moderate candidates would run; criticize the dismissal of science in health decisions; claim the label ‘ugly American’ is making a comeback; and ask why more wasn’t spent to save Luka.
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.