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.

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?

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?

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.

NBA Commissioner David Stern cancelled the first two weeks of the NBA season this week after negotiators for the league and its players’ union were unable to reach an agreement. “We remain very, very far apart on virtually all issues,” Stern told reporters in New York. “We just have a gulf that separates us. We are so far apart . . . we can’t close the gap.”

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

NBA conversation topic cloud

Conversations around the NBA are currently 45% negative

Meanwhile, one of the NBA’s biggest stars, LeBron James, caused a stir this week by contemplating joining an NFL team as a free agent.

NFL conversation topic cloud

LeBron is currently being mentioned in 10% of all NFL conversations online. Overall sentiment around the NFL is 68% positive, 23% more positive than NBA conversations.

NBA vs. NFL buzz

NBA chatter spiked above NFL chatter this week thanks to the cancellation news. We will continue to monitor NBA buzz online until the lockout is resolved. Is the NBA alienating the fan base it worked so hard to build in the post-Jordan era?

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat last night to take a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals. Heat star LeBron James once again came up short in the fourth quarter, while Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki overcame the flu continued to quietly shine.

Video was released today of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade making fun of Dirk Nowitzki being sick.

Which stars are generating the most buzz? Is LeBron the villain? We used Social Radar to analyze conversations online.

LeBron vs. Dirk chatter

Chatter around Dirk and LeBron has been similar throughout the Finals, although chatter around LeBron spiked today.

LeBron James sentiment

Online conversations around LeBron James are 57% negative today.

Dirk Nowitski chatter

Online conversations around Dirk Nowitski are 60% positive today.

Overall chatter around the Dallas Mavericks is 66% positive, while overall chatter around the Miami Heat is only 61% positive. Is America rooting for the Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA championship?

The Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the 2011 NBA Playoffs yesterday by the Dallas Mavericks, ending their two year run as world champions. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said the game would be his last as a coach.

We measured buzz around the Lakers, comparing the championship buzz last year to the early exit sweep this year.

Lakers buzz

The Lakers have already generated more buzz in 2011, even though they played through June last year and won the world championship.

Lakers sentiment

Conversations around the Lakers are currently 60% negative. Players Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom were ejected from the game for flagrant fouls. Did the Lakers tarnish their legacy by acting like sore losers yesterday?

With the NCAA tournament wrapping up, MLB opening day in the books and NBA Playoffs about to begin, we thought it would be interesting to compare which of the major sports generated the most chatter.

Football vs Baseball vs Soccer vs Basketball vs Hockey (past year)

Football consistently generated the most chatter throughout the past year, even during the off-season.

Basketball sentiment

Soccer sentiment

Baseball sentiment

Hockey sentiment

Football sentiment

Interestingly, football had the lowest amount of positive conversations (80%) among the major sports, while basketball had the highest amount of positive conversations (86%).

The NCAA men’s college basketball tournament kicked off yesterday. Many sports fans call these the best sports days of the year, with 32 must-win games over the course of two days.

We used Social Radar to analyze chatter around March Madness.

March Madness vs NBA buzz

March Madness conversations had steadily increased over the last month, while NBA chatter has decreased.

March Madness sentiment

Chatter around March Madness is currently 81% positive.