Major league sports are followed by millions of dedicated fans across America, whether it’s the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, or MLS. But how about the rest of the world? We’ve analyzed Google search volume data across 155 countries to determine the most popular US sports teams around the globe.

Which Teams are Most Popular in Each Continent?

Discover the most popular teams in each of the world’s continents:

Europe

Basketball (and NBA betting) dominates across Europe, as the four most popular US sports teams are in the NBA. With the backing of an impressive eight countries, the Milwaukee Bucks are the most followed US sports team in Europe, followed closely by the Chicago Bulls with five. Additionally, the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors are each the top pick in four countries.

Meanwhile, the most popular US team in the UK is the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. Despite soccer being the most popular sport in Europe, no MLS teams make the cut.

Asia

In Asia, the most popular US sports team by a landslide is the Golden State Warriors. The San Francisco-based team is the top pick in 21 countries (half the continent), including India, Hong Kong and Iraq. The next most popular teams in this expansive continent are the Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat. Similar to European fans, Asian sports fans are mostly interested in basketball when it comes to US sports.

Africa

Looking at Africa, the Golden State Warriors once again dominate across the continent. As most popular major US sports team in over half of African countries, including Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the Warriors aren’t short of an international following.

South America

In South America, much like the rest of the world, the most popular US sports team is the Golden State Warriors – they place at the top in five countries, including Bolivia and Peru. The next most popular teams are the LA Lakers, Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets. Yet another continent of basketball fans!

North/Central America

Across the 20 nations spanning North and Central America, the most popular US sports team is the Miami Heat, favored in El Salvador and Guatemala as well as Caribbean islands Jamaica, Saint Vincent and Antigua and Barbuda. Meanwhile, the US and Mexico are in agreement with the Dallas Cowboys as its top pick.

Oceania

Across Oceania, there’s really only one winner when it comes to the most popular American sports team: the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are the top pick in Fiji, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, while Miami Heat have the strongest following in Australia.

Golden State Warriors are World’s Favorite Team

Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering their popularity across most continents, the Golden State Warriors top the charts as most popular US sports team around the world, taking the crown in an astounding 56 countries (more than the next six best-performing teams combined).

The Miami Heat come in second with the vote of 16 countries, while the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks have 12 and 10, respectively. Curiously, the top 10 US sports teams around the world are all from the NBA, with NFL not featured until the Dallas Cowboys in 11th.

Which Teams Are The Center of Global Conversation?

By collecting the 10 most popular US sports teams in each country, and weighting them based on ranking, we’ve been able to determine which teams are the main focus of global conversations.

The Golden State Warriors are ranked as the most talked about team around the world with a weighted score of 1080, likely thanks to their three NBA Championship titles in recent years and popularity of superstar Stephen Curry. The Warriors are followed by Miami Heat (704), Chicago Bulls (585) and Boston Celtics (554), while the Brooklyn Nets (523) round out the top five.

Overall, the top 15 talked-about teams around the world are all from the NBA, with other featured clubs including the Milwaukee Bucks (453), Los Angeles Lakers (368), Houston Rockets (298), Dallas Mavericks (263), Toronto Raptors (245), Cleveland Cavaliers (244), Denver Nuggets (187), Utah Jazz (184), Phoenix Suns (166) and San Antonio Spurs (142).

Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys (121), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (120), LA Galaxy (118), six-time Super Bowl champions New England Patriots (111) and Green Bay Packers (88) round out the top 20.

Methodology

To collect popularity data, each team in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS was ran through Ahrefs Keyword Explorer to gather an estimation of monthly Google searches. Using the country filter, data was collected from 155 countries, with the top 10 searched teams for each recorded. This allowed us to identify which US sports teams are most popular in each country and which place first.

To determine which teams dominate conversations, the top 10 teams for every country were weighted depending on their ranking. If a team ranked first, 10 points were given, 2nd was given 9 points, etc. We totaled the score for each country and ordered them.

With the Golden State Warriors currently the most followed team worldwide, it’ll be interesting to see if this changes in the coming years. For even more expert insight, discover the latest picks and odds for your team.

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