Gun duo squaring off

IT’S the marquee NBL matchup between two NBA-bound sensations that will be the highest-rating sporting contest in Australia this week.

The biggest TV audience in NBL history is expected to tune in tonight when “Next Stars” signings LaMelo Ball (Illawarra Hawks) and RJ Hampton (New Zealand Breakers) clash for the first time at Spark Arena in Auckland.

More people will watch Ball and Hampton’s match-up than Friday’s rugby league Test between Australia and New Zealand and Sunday’s Australia versus Sri Lanka T20 clash.

More than one million people in the US viewed Ball’s first game for Illawarra against Brisbane on Facebook — the most watched game in NBL history. Since then, the LaMelo Ball effect has been in full force with fans keen to get to know the younger brother of New Orleans guard Lonzo Ball.

Illawarra’s social media accounts have blown up following Ball’s arrival. The Hawks’ Instagram following has gone from 8000 to 62,000. The biggest name is former US President Barack Obama, who is following Illawarra on Twitter.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2019

Ball and Hampton’s presence has helped the NBL’s Instagram rise from 77,000 to 129,000, while the league’s reach on an average Facebook post is up 276 per cent.

As a result, the NBL now has more followers on Instagram than the A-League.

The domestic basketball league has never been more popular, which is showing with the NBL’s TV ratings on ESPN up 24 per cent. Fans have also flocked to watch Ball and Hampton strut their stuff.

Perth’s recent home game against Ball’s Hawks attracted 13,550 — the highest attended game between the two teams in history. And 10,098 watched the Hawks’ clash against the NBL’s newest franchise South East Melbourne Phoenix, the biggest crowd ever for an Illawarra game in Melbourne.