Markelle Fultz may have gone first in the NBA Draft this spring, but Lonzo Ball is officially the most talked-about NBA prospect in years. ESPN’s FiveThirtyEight published a story Thursday that highlights the amount of times Ball has received “mainstream online American media mentions,” and the results are staggering.
Not only was Ball mentioned more than Fultz, it was an advantage of hundreds of references. Between May 1 and July 30, Ball has been mentioned 702 times, while Fultz was only mentioned 436 times. The data looked at players in draft classes from 2013 to 2017, but no one was close to the media attention Lonzo Ball has received.
There are a few factors here, of course, one of them being the attention Lonzo’s father, LaVar, has brought on his entire family. But FiveThirtyEight’s Chris Herring argues that it’s not just LaVar’s bluster that’s making Lonzo a popular subject in the media.
It goes without saying that a ton of the attention Ball receives stems from his brash, outspoken father, LaVar, as he tries to bolster his family’s brand value any way he can. (It’s unclear whether LaVar’s penchant for the limelight will persist once Lonzo’s rookie season gets underway, something a number of fathers in and around the sport have expressed mild concern about.) But even when you parse out the stories that are more focused on LaVar, Lonzo still stands alone as the NBA rookie who’s been written about most frequently these past five years, with 563 mentions in the media.
That’s still far more than anyone studied in the piece. Fultz is second on the list with 436 mentions, more than Andrew Wiggins’ 381 mentions in 2014 and Ben Simmons’ 342 mentions. But the difference between Ball and the others on the list is staggering — he’s been mentioned twice as often as the top pick in last year’s draft.
There are other factors at play, including his destination in a large media market like Los Angeles, but the piece makes it clear that Ball is getting talked about more — and more consistently — than any NBA prospect in recent memory. And with the amount of coverage basketball gets these days, that might make him one of the most popular rookies ever.
(Via FiveThirtyEight)
