LeBron James lead the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, joined the Lakers as a free agent, and opened an elementary school for at-risk children. His busy 2018 helped make him the most tweeted about athlete in the world.
Second place in the U.S., however, went to an athlete unable to find a job: Colin Kaepernick. The quarterback and activist suing the NFL for collusion was the subject of more Twitter activity than anyone but James, ranking just ahead of retired Lakers star Kobe Bryant, Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving (who suffered a knee injury and received notoriety for arguing that the world is flat), and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
There were several other striking inclusions in Twitter’s top-10 lists (which were based on Tweets from users in the U.S. only). The only woman among the most-discussed athletes on Twitter was tennis superstar Serena Williams at No. 7. The team top-10 rankings comprised four NBA teams (Cavaliers, Lakers, Warriors, Celtics), three MLB teams (Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers), two NFL teams (Eagles, Patriots), and, interestingly, one European soccer club (Real Madrid).
The top two sporting events were both international—the World Cup and the Winter Olympics—while the NFL and NBA Drafts and WWE Wrestlemania all rated higher than the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals (No. 10) and MLB’s World Series (outside the top-10). World Series Game 5, when the Red Sox clinched the title, did rank eighth among individual sports games.
The year’s most tweeted day was Sunday, Feb. 25, the day of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games closing ceremony. In all, users posted 103 million Olympics-related tweets.
Top Athletes
- Lebron James
- Colin Kaepernick
- Kobe Bryant
- Kyrie Irving
- Tom Brady
- Dwyane Wade
- Serena Williams
- Kawhi Leonard
- Chris Paul
- Stephen Curry
Top Teams
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Golden State Warriors
- New York Yankees
- Boston Red Sox
- Boston Celtics
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Real Madrid
- New England Patriots
Top Sports Commentators
- Adam Schefter
- Shannon Sharpe
- Jemele Hill
- Skip Bayless
- Darren Rovell
- Stephen A. Smith
- Adrian Wojnarowski
- Joe Rogan
- Colin Cowherd
- Shaquille O’Neal
Top Tweeted Sports Events
- FIFA World Cup Russia
- PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games
- NBA Finals (Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors)
- NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament
- NFL Draft
- U.S. Open Tennis Championships
- NBA Draft
- WWE Wrestlemania
- NBA All-Star Game
- NHL Stanley Cup Finals
Top Tweeted Sports Games
- Super Bowl LII (Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots)
- College Football Playoff National Championship (Alabama vs. Georgia)
- AFC Championship Game (Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New England Patriots)
- NBA Finals: Game 1 (Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors)
- NFC Championship Game (Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles)
- NFC Divisional Round Playoff Game (New Orleans Saints vs. Minnesota Vikings)
- FIFA World Cup Final (Croatia vs. France)
- World Series: Game 5 (Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Dodgers)
- NBA Finals: Game 4 (Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors)
- AFC Divisional Round Playoff Game (Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)
Top Sports Hashtags
- #wpmoychallenge
- #raw
- #flyeaglesfly
- #nbavote
- #worldcup
- #superbowl
- #nfl
- #wwe
- #eagles
- #nba
Most Tweeted about Video Games
- Fortnite
- Call of Duty
- Overwatch
- Pokémon
- EA Sports Madden NFL
- NBA 2K
- Super Mario
- Super Smash Brothers
- Splatoon
- Grand Theft Auto