With LeBron James and Anthony Davis in tow, the Los Angeles Lakers have made their way back to the top of basketball fandom on the 2019 FanSided 250.
Los Angeles Lakers fans have been Photoshopping NBA stars in gold and purple for years now, but when Anthony Davis essentially forced his way to Hollywood to team up with LeBron James, all that wishful thinking finally materialized into the latest Lake Show contender.
Lakers fans have been vocal throughout the last few rebuilding seasons, but on the precipice of a return to the playoffs, and possibly even banner No. 17, this wide-ranging fanbase is more relevant than ever. Having the King was enough to put a massive fanbase accustomed to championship aspirations back on the map; adding another top-10 superstar only ratchets the meter up to 15.
Every year, the FanSided team takes on the considerable task of ranking the best fanbases in the world. But how do you compare baseball fans to Beyonce stans? For the FanSided 250, our editorial team dove deep into the presence and identity of each of the nominated fandoms. We looked at three key statistics — The Fan Vote, Search Score and Social Follows — and our core longstanding values of magnitude (a fanbase’s size and scope), legacy (longevity and loyalty of the fanbase) and passion as well. But most important was buzz. If the fans of a player, team or entertainer have buzz, we see them all over social media, they are inescapable, they dominate every physical and virtual water cooler conversation.
After much deliberation and healthy debate, 250 fanbases were ranked and ordered to be the list you see on the FanSided 250 today — with the Los Angeles Lakers on top of basketball.
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