A new study by OnlineGambling.ca can reveal that GOAT LeBron James is the most trolled NBA player. Using ESPN’s current NBA seasons leaders list they analysed over 1.1 million social media posts of the top 25 most talked about players to determine which players receive the most love or hate from fans online.
The below chart breakdowns each players number of mentions and percentage of posts expressing positive, negative and neutral sentiment:
| NBA Player | total mentions | positive | neutral | negative |
| LeBron James | 278711 | 21% | 55% | 24% |
| Bradley Beal | 34433 | 20% | 58% | 23% |
| Joel Embiid | 41351 | 32% | 46% | 22% |
| James Harden | 58252 | 17% | 62% | 20% |
| Kawhi Leonard | 35161 | 25% | 55% | 19% |
| Jayson Tatum | 25678 | 19% | 62% | 19% |
| Kevin Durant | 93709 | 24% | 57% | 19% |
| Russell Westbrook | 38145 | 15% | 66% | 19% |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 46615 | 25$ | 58% | 17% |
| Kyle Lowry | 21964 | 20% | 63% | 17% |
| Ben Simmons | 33384 | 26% | 58% | 16% |
| Damian Lillard | 29875 | 21% | 66% | 13% |
| Stephen Curry | 166620 | 23% | 66% | 11% |
| Zach LaVine | 62440 | 12% | 79% | 10% |
| Anthony Davis | 24545 | 16% | 75% | 9% |
| Julius Randle | 24992 | 32% | 60% | 8% |
| Jimmy Butler | 27311 | 11% | 81% | 7% |
| Devin Booker | 27415 | 24% | 71% | 5% |
| Jaylen Brown | 23405 | 8% | 87% | 5% |
| Luka Doncic | 21419 | 16% | 80% | 4% |
A quarter of all posts about LeBron James are expressing negative 80% sentiment
By digging into the topics of the social media posts, there have been two distinct incidents that have led to rise of online abuse against one of the most popular basketball players of all time.
LeBron James’ very dramatic flop during a game with the Grizzlies, which has earned him an official warning from the NBA governing body has created a surge in negative sentiment. Fans have taken to social media to express their anger, disgust and mockery over his over-the-top reaction using the hashtag #LeFlop, which was trending over the weekend.
The other reason for his decline in popularity is his clash with “Courtside Karen”, where his interaction with Juliana Carlos during a Lakers-Hawks game went viral. It seems that LeBron’s reaction and following statement to how he dealt with the situation is proving problematic with some sports fans.
