NBL: LaMelo Ball v RJ Hampton clash attracts 2 million viewers
The Breakers v Hawks NBL clash featuring LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton has smashed viewing records.
Basketball
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The clash of top NBA prospects RJ Hampton and LaMelo Ball made the match between New Zealand Breakers and Illawarra Hawks the most watched game in NBL history with nearly 2 million views globally on Facebook.
According to figures released by the NBL the match attracted 1.9 million views, surpassing the one million views for Ball’s first game for Illawarra against Brisbane on October 6.
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There were an estimated five million views on highlights from the game shared on social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. League owner Larry Kestelman said the league had established itself as the second best in the world, behind the NBA.
“This was a highly anticipated game between two future NBA Stars and attracted huge worldwide attention, particularly in the U.S, “ Kestelman said.
“Despite the time difference there were almost two million views of the Facebook live stream, bringing an enormous global audience to the NBL. Fans were also watching on Twitch and consuming highlights on global social media platforms.
“It reinforces the NBL’s status as the second best domestic basketball league in the world and our commitment to make the game available to more people to watch when and how they choose across different platforms as we continue to grow our audience across Australia and globally.”
Thursday night was also New Zealand’s biggest home crowd since 2013 with 8,338 fans attending the game.