Jump to content

Draft:NBACentel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
@TheNBACentel
FormationJuly 2022; 2 years ago (July 2022)
Founded atToronto, Canada[1]
Affiliationsnone
WebsiteX (formerly Twitter) account

NBACentel, often referred to simply as Centel, is the handle of a satirical sports journalism page on X (formerly Twitter). A parody of notable National Basketball Association news aggregator page NBACentral, the Centel page often posts humorous or outright outlandish faux headlines regarding NBA teams, players, coaches, and personalities. Because of the account's similar appearance to NBACentral, many readers are often fooled ("Centel'd")[2] by the account's satirical headlines, mistaking them for fact at first glance. Centel has notably fooled or otherwise attracted the attention of many players and media figures with its posts, including Colin Cowherd[sm 1][3] and Kevin Durant.[4] The account garnered further widespread media attention after it was abruptly shadow-banned from the X website on February 26, 2025[5][6] before being reinstated less than 24 hours later.[7] Despite explicitly labeling itself as a parody account, NBACentel has been the subject of critique online due to its contribution towards a fast-growing monetized disinformation scene on social media. As of February 2025, the NBACentel X account has more than 450,000 followers.

History

[edit]

NBACentel is an X account directly parodying "NBACentral", a basketball news aggregator on the platform. The account was opened in July 2022 under a different handle, and initially posted non-parody NBA content before pivoting to its NBACentel identity in 2023.[1] The owner of the account, who remains anonymous, credits his inspiration primarily to Ballsack Sports, another "troll" account that has had fake quotes picked up and spread by legitimate news outlets.[1]

In July 2023, a fake quote attributed to retired forward Kevin Garnett targeted at Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green prompted Green to write a response on X, which in turn gave Centel its first taste of online notoriety.[8]

The account would rise to unforeseen heights entering the 2024-25 NBA season, often posting humorous headlines riffing on recent notable events in the NBA sphere, such as sportscaster Shannon Sharpe's accidental Instagram Live sextape[sm 2] and the Luka Dončić–Anthony Davis trade. These headlines are made more believable by their relevance to current events. Many Centel posts also bank on a recurring library of NBA fandom in-jokes, often involving specific players including Ben Simmons, Bronny James, his father, and players who have fallen victim to Centel bait in the past, including Draymond Green and Kevin Durant.

X shadow ban

[edit]

On the afternoon of February 26, 2025, posts from the @TheNBACentel profile page on X stopped loading, and posts from the account ceased.[9] The account's garnered widespread sympathy from much of the NBA media sphere, including tribute posts on X from Stephen A. Smith and the official accounts of various NBA teams, posting hashtags (i.e. #RIPCentel, #FreeCentel), and dedicating wins from that night's games in the account's honor.[5] The NBACentel account was restored to full functionality late the following morning, on February 27.[7] Since the account page technically remained up during the ban, Centel had gained an additional 100,000 followers in the 24 hours following the ordeal.

Notable faux stories

[edit]
Kevin Durant tells another X user that they have been misled by NBACentel.

Various fake reports and quotes written by NBACentel have received viral attention, often from news outlets and public figures believing them to be real. Centel additionally tags fake "reporter" accounts in its headlines, mimicking the format of other sports news aggregators and adding to the believability of the satire. NBACentel has even caught the attention and even fooled several current and former NBA players since it began posting satire in 2023.

Shortly after Centel began posting satirical content, the page successfully fooled Draymond Green into responding to a fake quote attributed to Kevin Garnett, with Green writing "I tried you when I was a Rookie KG, and you started talking to yourself like I wasn’t talking to you." This prompted Garnett to respond back to Green, pointing out the fake account, and calling for X CEO Elon Musk to "fix it".[8] Afterward, all-star forward Kevin Durant, Green's former teammate, responded to a follow-up post from the page telling him to "Talk to your boy [Green]," writing "Nah yo, u gotta chill. Do something bout this @god".[sm 3][8]

Durant has taken note of NBACentel on multiple occasions. In October 2024, Durant replied a profane X post directed towards him by user @JasonAWilkinson in response to a fake quote attributed to him, written by Centel. Durant informed Wilkinson that he had been "Centel'd," having believed the fake quote to be true.[sm 4] Durant later made a post offhandedly referring to the incident: "Sometimes I wake up and look at @TheNBACentel comments just to truly see how many dummies come online thinking that they have high iq [sic]. Good morning".[4]

On November 11, 2024, @TheNBACentel posted a fabricated quote from Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, humorously writing that Rivers "have [sic] informed the Bucks he’ll start taking coaching 'seriously' now," after the team lost eight of its first 10 games to start the 2024-25 season.[sm 5] Following the post, the Bucks would go on to win nine of their next 10 games and later win the 2024 NBA Cup tournament.

Luka Dončić trade saga

[edit]
See also: Luka Dončić–Anthony Davis trade

Following the blockbuster three-team deal that sent Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, NBACentel produced a large series of satirical posts, headlines, and fake quotes involving Dončić, the Mavericks, and General Manager Nico Harrison, who orchestrated the trade.[10][sm 6][sm 7]

On February 9, NBACentel posted a doctored Instagram screenshot that shows Kim Kardashian attempting to flirt with Dončić, writing "I want to learn how to speak Slovenian" with a lip-bite emoji attached. In the image, Dončić then humorously replies, "No , [sic] please don't".[sm 8] The edit received more than 500,000 likes on X and managed to fool several Tabloid news outlets.[11]

On February 21, Centel broke a fictitious story reporting that the Mavericks had banned fans from entering American Airlines Center wearing jerseys that bear Dončić's name and number.[sm 9] This came after multiple actual recorded instances of Mavericks fans being escorted out of home games for chanting or holding signs that read "Fire Nico".[12][13] Centel's faux headline was ultimately believable enough to fool sportscaster Colin Cowherd, who mentioned the fake story during his show on Fox Sports 1.[3]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Perez, A.J. (22 October 2024). "Meet the Man Behind NBA Centel, Who Keeps Fooling Fans on Twitter". frontofficesports.com. Front Office Sports. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  2. ^ Avila, Alejandro (14 October 2024). "Parody NBA Account Somehow Gets Acknowledged By Dictionary Merriam-Webster". outkick.com. OutKick. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  3. ^ a b Contes, Brandon (24 February 2025). "Colin Cowherd duped by fake Luka Dončić rumor". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  4. ^ a b Rapp, Timothy (14 October 2024). "Suns' Kevin Durant Calls Out 'Dummies' Who Think 'They Have High IQ' About the NBA". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  5. ^ a b Morse, Ben (27 February 2025). "As this popular parody NBA social media account disappears, various franchises and basketball figures mourn the loss". CNN. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  6. ^ Kadlick, Mike (26 February 2025). "NBA World Pays Tribute to Fallen Troll Account 'TheNBACentel' on Social Media". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Parody Account NBACentel Returns After Being Kicked Off X". TMZ. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Joseph, Dhani (19 July 2023). "Draymond Green rips Kevin Garnett after falling for fake parody account quote". New York Post. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  9. ^ Mader, Daniel. "What happened to NBA Centel? Popular NBA parody account receives 'temporary restrictions' on X". sportingnews.com. The Sporting News. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  10. ^ Bhaunt, Rohan (22 February 2025). "Is Dallas Mavericks Banning Fans From Wearing Luka Doncic's Jersey? Fact-Checking the Viral Social Media Claim". Essentially Sports. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  11. ^ Hook, Ellie (10 February 2025). "Kim Kardashian shoots her shot with Los Angeles Lakers star - but it goes horribly wrong". Express US. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  12. ^ Falcon, Julia (11 February 2025). "Dallas Mavericks fans with "fire Nico" signs escorted out of American Airlines Center". CBS News Texas. CBS News. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  13. ^ McMahon, Tim (11 February 2025). "Fans break NBA code of conduct, ejected from Mavericks' loss". ESPN. Retrieved 27 February 2025.

Social media

[edit]
  1. ^ "NBACentel on X: "'I saw a story where they won't let Luka jerseys in the building in Dallas.' Colin Cowherd got CENTEL'D. 😭😭😭"". x.com. @TheNBACentel. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  2. ^ "NBACentel on X: "Shannon Sharpe on IG: 'I put that thang deep inside, she called me papi, that shi*t was generational.' 😭"". x.com. @TheNBACentel. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  3. ^ "Kevin Durant on X: "Nah yo, u gotta chill. Do something bout this @god"". x.com. @KDTrey5. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  4. ^ "Kevin Durant on X: "You got centel'd…"". x.com. @KDTrey5. 14 October 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  5. ^ "NBACentel on X: "Doc Rivers have informed the Bucks he'll start taking coaching 'seriously' now, per @ChrisBHayne"". x.com. @TheNBACentel. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  6. ^ "NBACentel on X: "Luka's comment. 💀😭"". x.com. @TheNBACentel. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  7. ^ "NBACentel on X: "Lakers officially unveiled their new superstar trio nickname: BBL (Bron, Bronny, Luka). 🔥"". x.com. @TheNBACentel. 6 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  8. ^ "NBACentel on X: "Kim Kardashian's comment on Lakers IG.😭"". x.com. @TheNBACentel. 9 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  9. ^ "NBACentel on X: "BREAKING: The Mavericks organization has announced they will ban fans from wearing Luka Doncic jerseys as a way to move forward from him. (Via @ChrisBHayne)"". x.com. @TheNBACentel. 21 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.

Category:Basketball controversies Category:Internet memes introduced from Canada Category:Internet memes introduced in 2023 Category:Internet properties established in 2022 Category:Internet trolling Category:Journalism controversies Category:NBA mass media Category:Parody social media accounts Category:Twitter accounts

Retrieved from "http://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Draft:NBACentel&oldid=1278022943"