Los Angeles Clippers’ star Blake Griffin threw down what many are calling the dunk of the year in last night’s NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Social media sites and blogs exploded with chatter last night and today. We used Social Radar to analyze conversations online.

Blake Griffin buzz

Blake Griffin mentions online reached their highest point since February 2011, when Griffen won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest by jumping over a Kia.

Blake Griffin vs. Kobe vs. LeBron

We measured conversation around Griffin compared to the NBA’s two biggest stars: LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Griffin is generating more conversations online than both today.

At least for today, Blake Griffin is the most popular player in the NBA.

In early December, we posted that Tim Tebow was generating more buzz than Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo and Drew Brees thanks to the Denver Broncos winning streak and the Tebowing craze.

Sunday, Tebow wrote the most magical chapter in his early career with his overtime upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the NFL Playoffs.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations around Tebow online.

Tim Tebow buzz

Tebow mentions are currently nearly double their highest level in December.

Broncos buzz

Broncos mentions reached their highest point of the season on Sunday.

NFL playoff team buzz

The New Orleans Saints were the most talked about team on Wild Card weekend. The chart above displays the top six most discussed teams over the weekend.

We will continue to monitor NFL buzz on the road to the Super Bowl.

The NBA drama continues, as the Los Angeles Clippers completed a major trade, landing one of the League’s best point guards, Chris Paul.

After commissioner David Stern blocked the Los Angeles Lakers from acquiring Paul, did the Clippers just become the top attraction in LA for the first time ever?

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations online.

Clippers buzz

We analyzed conversations back to December 2008. Clippers buzz is currently at its highest point, after mentions online skyrocketed more than 1000% following the Chris Paul acquisition.

Clippers conversations

Conversations around the Clippers are currently 62% positive. Chris Paul is being mentioned in more than 30% of all Clippers conversations.

Did the NBA make the right move allowing Paul to be traded to the Clippers but not the Lakers?

On December 8, the Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a three-team trade for one of the NBA’s best point guards, Chris Paul. But NBA fans may never know what Chris Paul looks like in a Lakers jersey because commissioner David Stern blocked the trade. Sportswriter Bill Simmons says the NBA has lost its way, and the blocked trade was the worst moment in commissioner Stern’s era. We used Social Radar to analyze conversations around the NBA online.

NBA conversation topic cloud

Just when the NBA lockout ended and buzz seemed to be trending positively, NBA buzz is now nearly 50% negative. The Chris Paul trade is the biggest topic of NBA conversations online, and conversations around the trade are 76% negative.

Do you think the NBA brand is tarnished in light of recent events?

Tim Tebow, quarterback of the Denver Broncos, continues to confound critics and delight fans as he guides the Denver Broncos to win after win, moving them ever closer to a playoff spot. Despite having terrible stats (he ranks 30 out of 34 quarterbacks this season), Tebow’s Broncos have found ways to win games since he became the starting quarterback .

And if that’s not enough, “Tebow” is a verb now, too. To Tebow is “to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different” according to Tebowing.com.

How does Tebow’s buzz compare to other leading NFL quarterbacks? We used Social Radar to analyze conversations online.

Quarterback buzz

Tim Tebow has thrust his name into the spotlight over the last six months, surpassing Mark Sanchez, Tony Romo, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady in mentions online.

Tim Tebow sentiment

After increasing negative buzz through mid-September, conversations around Tebow have been positive the last two months. Tebow has the Broncos leading the AFC West at 7-5 and currently ranked 10th in ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings.

NBA owners and players have reached a tentative agreement to end the lockout and begin a shortened 66-game season on Christmas Day. The 149-day lockout cost the League approximately a half-billion dollars in losses. How quickly will recession-beaten and disenchanted spectators return to the game? Despite an average of $48 a ticket and a wave of bad press about both sides during the bargaining, the comeback is expected to be swift.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations around the NBA online.

NBA mentions online

Buzz around the NBA reached its highest point of the year last week after the agreement ended the lockout, surpassing the buzz during the NBA Finals in June when the Dallas Mavericks defeated LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

NBA sentiment

Negative buzz was steadily increasing through October and November as the NBA cancelled games due to the lockout, but conversations spiked to 74% positive following the agreement.

NBA conversation topic cloud

Currently every major topic of conversation around the NBA is positive. The Christmas day opening game is currently being mention in 20% of all NBA conversations.

NBA fans tell us: will you watch the Christmas day games? Will you buy tickets to games this year?

Boxing was back last weekend as Manny Pacquiao won a thrilling 12 round decision over Juan Manuel Marquez at MGM Grand arena in Las Vegas.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations around Pacquiao online.

Pacquiao buzz

Following the fight Saturday night, Pacquiao was being mentioned more online than football, Obama and even Bieber.

Will a Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight help put boxing back in the national spotlight?

The boxing world was quick to react upon hearing news of the death of former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, who passed away at age 67 Monday night after a brief bout with liver cancer.

Then Tuesday, hip-hop artist Heavy D died at age 44 after collapsing outside his condo in Beverly Hills. The music community called Heavy D “the only rapper everybody always loved.”

In today’s world of social media, fans have more outlets than ever before to express condolences to those who have passed.

Heavy D and Joe Frazier mentions

Although neither had been in the news recently, both received a huge amount of condolences online this week.

Content distribution by category

More fans paid respects to Heavy D via Twitter, while Joe Frazier received more image and blog posts.

CBS News reported that U.S. Major League Soccer has eclipsed both the NBA and the NHL in terms of average attendance at games. The article noted that mere attendance isn’t the full measure of a sport’s popularity. The indoor arenas of basketball and hockey have structurally smaller audience capacities than the capacious outdoor arenas of football. And percentage attendance at NBA and NHL games tends to be nearer capacity than attendance at soccer.

Here’s how the most recent attendance numbers break down:

1. NFL: 66,960
2. MLB: 30,352
3. MLS: 17,872
4. NBA: 17,319
5. NHL: 17,126

Is soccer well on the road of becoming America’s third favorite sport behind football and baseball? We used Social Radar to analyze conversations online. 

Basketball vs. soccer vs. hockey buzz

We measured the number of times the words ‘basketball,’ ‘soccer’ and ‘hockey’ appeared online since November 2009. The trend chart above shows that basketball generated the most mentions overall throughout the two year time period.

NBA vs. NHL vs. MLS buzz

We ran the same analysis around the number of times ‘NBA’ (National Basketball Association), ‘NHL’ (National Hockey League) and ‘MLS’ (Major League Soccer) were mentioned online. Again, the NBA generated the most chatter by a wide margin, though MLS is currently at its closest point to NBA buzz.

In what ESPN called as great a game as baseball has ever witnessed, the St. Louis Cardinals continued their improbable run winning Game 6 of the 2011 World Series. Down to the last strike twice, the Cardinals kept rallying until David Freese completed the night of comebacks with a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to beat the Texas Rangers 10-9.

The Cardinals will face the Rangers in Game 7 of the World Series Friday night.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations online.

World Series buzz

World Series mentions skyrocketed following the dramatic Game 6.

World Series mentions 2011 vs. 2010

We compared World Series mentions on blogs and social media sites in 2011 vs. 2010. So far, buzz in 2011 has already doubled the amount in 2010. Game 7 could increase the lead even more.

World Series sentiment

Conversations around World Series spiked above 80% positive following last night’s game.

With the NBA season in jeopardy thanks to the unresolved lockout, baseball seems to be in a good position to carry momentum and positive buzz into next season.