The LinkedIn Top 10: Profiles from NBA Starters
As an NBA fan and social media professor, I salivated at the thought of joining my two passions together in an article on the best NBA LinkedIn profiles. To put this article together as objectively as possible, I only selected from players that were starters on an NBA team, as documented by ESPN’s updated depth chart.
My interest in the NBA began when as a 9-year-old I would gladly turn in the $2 a day I earned sweeping the floor at the barbershop for a pack of 1990 Skybox NBA player cards. In my adulthood, my love for the game has persisted even though I never had much luck on an organized basketball court. The closest I ever came to playing on an NBA court was for a non-profit tournament a few years back that included the mayor of Phoenix.
More recently, my interest in the best NBA LinkedIn profiles originated while listening to former NBA great Baron Davis speak at an event at SXSW. After hearing Davis’s discussion on his numerous entrepreneurial and investment ventures, I have been much more in tune with what NBA players do outside of their primary profession.
From my research, a key lesson I realized is that not many NBA players have a LinkedIn profile. With the support of one of the interns at my ad agency, we attempted to locate profiles for 150 NBA starters. It turned out that only 19 of the 150 active NBA starters in 2022 have a LinkedIn profile and only half of those are active. This low number (13%) surprised me, and there were several key absences that I was certain would have an active profile, including Lebron James.
Second, I found that the NBA players who have accounts don’t post regularly. It was common to see players that had not posted in two months or more such as Luka Doncic who infrequently posts product giveaways from companies he is invested in. I can’t imagine what else these guys are so busy with in November…
Finally, as I share my top 10 best NBA LinkedIn profiles below, I must emphasize that I only researched current NBA starters. Due to this, a number of players were not eligible for this top 10 including Andre Iguodala, Malcolm Brogdon, and more.
#10 Tobias Harris – 932 Followers
Tobias Harris, when he is not playing for the Philadelphia 76ers or starring in Goldfish commercials with his longtime NBA pal Boban Marjanovic, has a very impressive LinkedIn profile. He does an outstanding job detailing all of his work experience including four of the different NBA teams he has played for. He lists recent investments he has made and is one of the few NBA players to actively post, most recently sharing an investment he made in Prolific Machines, a sustainable agriculture research firm.
#9 Torrey Craig – 964 Followers
Craig, a Forward with the Phoenix Suns, has an About section on LinkedIn that excels in briefly explaining who he is. In the section he shares about his business ventures, “Torrey is committed to his success off the court. He has continued to expand his brand relationships to develop a diverse business portfolio centered around tech, residential and commercial real estate, and other entrepreneurial endeavors.” Craig actively posts and shared several months back about how his foundation recently refurbished the basketball court in the small South Carolina town where he grew up.
#8 Mason Plumlee – 1,067 Followers
Plumlee, an NBA veteran who has graced NBA floors since 2013, also does well in documenting his NBA career including his stops in Brooklyn, Portland, Denver, Detroit, and currently with the Charlotte Hornets. A highlight of his career off the court is being a co-founder of Free Solo Ventures which is a healthcare venture fund investing in innovative, private U.S.-based healthcare companies.
#7 Harrison Barnes – 5,218 Followers
The former Facebook intern has a must-see executive website that lists his board of director engagements (4 total!) and his firm’s investment strategies in financial institutions. Barnes is an advocate of teetotalism who did not have his first sip of alcohol until celebrating his championship in 2015 with the Golden State Warriors. Barnes easily earns his title of LinkedIn NBA All-Star as the league veteran since 2012 links to his various other social media channels including his Instagram with nearly 1 million followers.
#6 Luka Doncic – 6,306 Followers
The perennial NBA All-Star from the Dallas Mavericks is unique in that he has the name of one of his investment companies as part of his LinkedIn handle (@lukabiosteel). The Global Chief Hydration Officer for BioSteel doesn’t frequently post on LinkedIn, but when he does, he often gives away goodies of his favorite brand such as this BioSteel packed fridge.
#5 Josh Hart – 14,403 Followers
While not yet an All-Star on the NBA hardwood, Josh Hart is definitely a LinkedIn NBA All-Star. At over 14,000 followers Hart has built his following through myriad activities including being a Podcast Co-Host, Twitch Streamer, and Angel Investor. Mentioned on his LinkedIn are several companies he invested in including FaZe Clan, Lemon Perfect, WinZO, and PlayVS. At the young age of 27, Hart has huge potential both on the court and with the companies he invested in given his connection to the gaming audience via his Twitch channel.
#4 Spencer Dinwiddie – 9,301 Followers
Dinwiddie has in my opinion the best LinkedIn Headline of all NBA players, which is “Tech Guy with a Jumper”. Dinwiddie holds up to his claim as a founder of three tech companies including Calaxy, an app reimagining the way people use social media. The app gives creators a toolkit to interact with their fans in one place and rewards fans for their engagement.
#3 Chris Paul – 25,863 Followers
Chris Paul is the most active of the 10 LinkedIn NBA All-Stars, frequently posting about his business activities including joining the TMRW Sports team with fellow entrepreneurs who share a passion for golf and technology. Paul doesn’t catalog his investments on his LinkedIn, however, by browsing his posts, you can see several of the companies he is involved with including Roots Food Group which is also invested in by several other NBA players including Kevin Love.
#2 Kevin Durant, 68,527 Followers
Like his documented frequent activity on Twitter, Durant often posts on LinkedIn, mostly sharing content from Boardroom, a media network he co-founded. Among his skills which can most certainly be endorsed, Durant lists ‘Investments’, ‘Venture Capital’, and ‘Basketball’.
#1 Steph Curry, 86,618 Followers
Besides dazzling NBA fans by racking up four championships and two MVPs over his 14-year career, Curry also sizzles on his LinkedIn profile by having the most followers of all active NBA starters. In addition to sharing his NBA career, he records himself as CEO of SC30Inc. which names Curry’s brand partners including well-known entities such as Rakuten, Subway, Callaway, and more. Curry is also mentioned on his LinkedIn as the Founder & Partner of Unanimous Media which is committed to collaborating with underrepresented filmmakers, creators, and writers and bringing a lens to narratives that need to be heard.
Above are the top 10 best NBA LinkedIn profiles as of November 2022. I will be sure to update next season as well.
See the full list of all 150 NBA Starters active as of 11/15/22.