Today, at 18, LaMelo boasts 5.5 million …

Today, at 18, LaMelo boasts 5.5 million Instagram followers, more than All-Stars like Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum. And he has become a favorite of social media managers, regularly drawing some of the highest engagement online among basketball stars. On Instagram, LaMelo averages 638,388 likes and 3,666 comments with a 10.50% engagement rate per post, according to the Phlanx Instagram engagement calculator, adding around 50,000 followers per month. The NBA team with the highest social media engagement online, the Lakers, averages 159,553 likes and 822 comments with a 1.09% engagement rate. When Zion-mania was in full tilt just before the 2019 NBA draft, the Duke freshman accrued 3.3 million followers on Instagram. The combination of performance and clout gives LaMelo enormous influence before ever having played a minute in the NBA, not only in an ability to impact the win column, but the potential to create a big-market environment wherever he goes.