New report shows Lakers most Googled NBA team over past decade
The Lakers are the most searched NBA team on Google in the past decade, but the Heat own that title over the past 12 months. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Though it may not come as much of a surprise -- at least not to fans is Los Angeles -- the Lakers are the most Googled NBA team worldwide in the past decade, according to a graph released this week from data journalist Nate Silver's newly launched 538 blog.
At the bottom of the list, as one may also expect, are the Milwaukee Bucks. Since 2004, the Lakers have been searched almost as many times as the Miami Heat and New York Knicks combined. In the past year, however, the Heat have far surpassed the Lakers as the most searched NBA team on the world's most popular search engine. The San Antonio Spurs, who have won three championships since 2003, ranked No. 7 on the list and were barely out-searched by the Houston Rockets, who came in sixth in the Google trends rankings.
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As Silver points out, "the exceptions are expansion teams or relocated franchises, when the data is run from the team’s first month of operation in its new location."
In the other sports leagues, the Montreal Canadiens were the most searched NHL team, more than the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins combined; the New York Yankees were the most searched MLB team, slightly edging out the Boston Red Sox; and the Dallas Cowboys came in as the No. 1 most searched NFL team over the past decade, getting roughly the same amount of searches as the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos combined.
Perhaps as expected, Manchester United ranked No. 1 among all Google searches for English Premier League clubs.
