The United States government has passed a law banning the use of the popular social media platform TikTok. Thousands of influencers will lose their thousands (and sometimes millions) of followers, and millions of people are losing their ability to scroll through the content on the app. The sports world will be affected as well, as there are athletes and personalities who have created large TikTok communities, and will see their accounts fall by the wayside.
TikTok Ban: Which NBA Players Had The Most Followers?
TikTok was popular within the NBA community. One of the most followed sports-adjacent accounts belonged to Shaquille O’Neal, the former all-time great center and current cast member of Inside the NBA. Shaq had built up a community of nearly 14 million followers over the years, attracting viewership with candid videos of things like time with his family and silly lip-syncing clips.
But there are current players that will be losing their millions of followers as well. Stephen Curry had a following of 7.7 million, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 5.4 million himself.
Jared McCain is heartbroken over the potential TikTok ban. 💔
(Via @J_mccain_24 IG) pic.twitter.com/uVflyRuede
— NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) January 19, 2025
One of the most active influencers with a growing fan base was Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain. The 20-year-old out of Duke has been posting on the platform ever since he was in high school, and has become known for his flamboyant and jazzy dances and the lip-syncing that he does as well. He had recently been chronicling his rehabilitation from the injury that cut his first NBA season short, but will have to find a new platform with the TikTok ban in effect.
Dwight Howard, who has been playing overseas since his NBA career ended, took to his Instagram account to address the situation. The player nicknamed “Superman” has invited those interested to follow him on Snapchat instead. Howard had roughly 1.2 million subscribers on TIkTok before the ban.
Is the ban of TikTok permanent? According to president-elect Donald Trump, the new administration has urged tech companies to “not let TikTok stay dark”. It is rumored that he and his staff will allow the social media platform to return once he takes office on Monday.
