Once upon a time, I was active on NBA Twitter. I used to scroll through the timeline constantly during games and throughout the day. But nowadays, I’m not active on NBA Twitter. Sure every once in a blue moon, I’ll send something NBA related to a friend. Or they might send something NBA related to me. But other than that, I don’t engage with NBA Twitter. I’ve found NBA Twitter to be a negative place in general, where fans find humor in the shortcomings of NBA players. Sure there are pros and cons to everything, but the cons of NBA Twitter began to rub me the wrong way.
Making fun of other people for their shortcomings feels like online bullying to me in a way. I don’t consider people on NBA Twitter bullies, but I do think they sometimes exhibit bully like behavior. I was guilty of this too in the past, making fun of NBA players for their shortcomings. But it’s an activity I can’t take part in anymore.
Pros
However, there are some aspects of NBA Twitter that are positive. It makes following the game a lot easier. Within different fanbases around the league, it can bring people together. For example if you are a Washington Wizards fan, you can connect with other Wizards fans on Twitter and start a friendship from there.
Although Instagram has Twitter beat in sharing highlights, Twitter is also an super efficient way to catch the play or dunk of the night. With how busy people can get, not everyone has the time to watch every NBA game. Twitter allows them to still see the best moments without having to watch the game.
NBA Twitter can bring people together during difficult times. When Kobe Bryant passed away on January 26, 2020 fans came together on NBA Twitter to express their grief. To share that grief with other fans who are going through the same emotions you are is a very powerful thing.
Cons
I went over some of the cons earlier. But I think the biggest one is that fans don’t truly realize that players see what is being posted about them. Players are active on NBA Twitter as well. To what extent they are active on NBA Twitter, we don’t know. But with the number of players on Twitter, we can assume that they are pretty active.
It’s easy to just pile on someone when it seems like everyone else is doing it. Especially when the national media is leading the way. Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving are the best examples of this. During these playoffs, the national media has gone after Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving. Social media then followed the national media’s lead. Being behind a screen makes it even easier to pile on someone because they don’t see you. You won’t have to deal with the consequences of what you said.
But imagine if the situation was flipped. If you were in Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving’s shoes and the basketball world was going after you. With every mention of your name on ESPN and Twitter inviting mockery and jokes. You wouldn’t feel all that great about yourself.
People enjoy the game in different ways
I am aware that I spent more time talking about the negative side of NBA Twitter than the positive side. Although I don’t like NBA Twitter, I understand that there are fans that do. I understand that NBA Twitter makes following the game that much more engaging for them. Different people like different things when it comes to the NBA, and there is nothing wrong with that. I just wish that people on NBA Twitter were a little less mean spirited towards each other and towards NBA players.