LaMelo Ball’s social media following is unlike any player or prospect his age before. As an 18-year old, Ball has 650,000 followers Twitter and an eye-popping 5.5 million followers on Instagram. His following dwarfs that of even NBA players like Trae Young (2.9 million), Zion Williamson (5.1 million) or Jimmy Butler (5.0 million) and rivals that of even someone like Anthony Davis (6.0 million).

In a recent ESPN piece discussing the impact social media by Joon Lee on young players and prospects like Ball, Shareef O’Neal or Bronny James, the true impact of Ball’s social media reach was revealed.

“On Instagram, LaMelo averages 638,388 likes and 3,666 comments with a 10.50% engagement rate per post, according to the Phlanx Instagram engagement calculator, adding around 50,000 followers per month. The NBA team with the highest social media engagement online, the Lakers, averages 159,553 likes and 822 comments with a 1.09% engagement rate.”

As noted in the piece, Ball has the unique ability to make any market he is drafted into seem like a big market team because of his following. As seen when Ball joined Illawarra and their Twitter following drastically grew, any team Ball lands with is going to see an increase in following and social media impact.