Bulls Called the First Players Only Meeting of the Season

The Chicago Bulls opened the 2023/24 campaign with a 20-point home loss to the Thunder. Not a great start to a season for a team with playoff expectations. However Chicago isn't just sweeping the loss under the rug. After the loss the Bulls called the first players only meeting of the season. The Chicago Tribune reported that Billy Donovan walked into the locker room with the players already in a heated conversation. Donavan was then told by the players to leave after he asked them. My initial take on this is overreaction. It's game 1 of 82, so there's no need to react in this way. But the more I think about it the more I love it. Fans regularly complain that the players in the NBA don't take the regular season seriously. I love that the Bulls called the first players only meeting of the season after just one game.

The players only meeting was not the only contentious moment of the evening. In the 3rd quarter Center Nikola Vucevic and Billy Donovan got into a heated exchange on the sideline. After the game Vucevic said he was just unhappy with some stuff the team was doing. He went on to say the Bulls didn't play well at either end of the court against Oklahoma City. Zach LaVine also had some strong words for the team saying they didn't play with enough heart. K.C. Johnson on Twitter/X reported that LaVine ripped into the team in the players only meeting. Let's see if the players only meeting lights a spark in the Bulls locker room.

The Florida Panthers have been playing hockey in South Florida since October of 1993. With varying degrees of success. They made the Playoffs in their third season, losing in the Stanley Cup Final to the Colorado Avalanche. They would make the playoffs the following season, but then miss out of the playoffs for 18 of the next 21 seasons. But the Cats have found success in recent history, and the growth in the fan base is showing.

Betway tracked social media growth over the last 12 months in the NHL. And the results are in... The Florida Panthers are one of the NHL's fastest growing fan bases! Los Gatos has had a 23.3% increase across all social media platforms. And the Florida Panthers Instagram followers rise to 391,000. That's more than 91,000 followers added in the last 12 months alone. The Florida Panthers are one of the NHL 's fastest growing fan bases.

So we know Florida is the fastest growing of the NHL fan bases. But who are the slowest growing? Betway has us covered there as well. The Ottawa Senators have had their Instagram account accrue a measly 1.35% over 12 months. And that shouldn't be surprising. The Senators haven't played a playoff hockey game since 2017. To make things worse for the Senators fans, last year was the first season since 2016/17 where they were even close to sniffing the playoffs. And they were still 6 points behind the final wild card spot. It probably shouldn't surprise you that the Stanley Cup runner-ups fan base is growing while a team that hasn't seen playoff hockey in a half a decade is slow to gain more traction. Here's a list of the the 5 fastest and 5 slowest growing fanbases.

We've already gone through all the statistical growth on Instagram. But it needs to be reiterated that the on-ice success has been what's fueled the growth of the fan base. Not the fan base needs to turn Amerant Bank Arena into a true home ice advantage.

The Devils have a talented young group of players led by Jack Hughes. Fun fact: Jack's brother Luke is a Defensemen on the Devils and their brother Quinn is Captain for the Vancouver Canucks. The Devils have grown their Instagram followers by 22.16% to 491,760 followers on the platform.

This one is the most surprising. Not because the Penguins aren't a great organization on and off the ice. But because they're such an established team that you'd figure most fans already have their opinion on the team. But they still managed to grown their Instagram following by 18.91% to 2.8 million! That's the most followers any team in the NHL has on the platform.

I love the Krak Heads! I think it's the most clever name a fan base have given themselves in recent memory. And it makes sense that a team going into their 3rd season is still growing their fan base. Plus they've had success early one with a trip to the conference quarterfinals in their 2nd season. They've grown their Instagram followers 13.84% to 569,500 followers.

I think this comes down to one man: Trevor Zegras. The kid is a human highlight reel. They've grown their Instagram following by 11.7% to 461,900 followers.

The Bolts have been an elite organization over the last half decade. They've lifted the Cup twice, lost in Finals, and had a President's Trophy season. They have stars of the league at basically every position. They've only grown on Instagram by 2.9% over the last 12 months.

The Flyers have become the red-headed step-child of the Philadelphia sports fan. The Eagles and Phillies each lost in their championships last year and are wagons this season. The 76ers aren't on that level, but are led by one of the faces of the league and are a top-5 Eastern Conference team. The Flyers grew their Instagram following by 2.85%

Another franchise that has been established for the last decade and led by Alex Ovechkin. They're not the Stanley Cup contender they once were, but they're still a solid team. Their Instagram following grew just 2.76% over the last 12 months.

This one is a little head scratching. The Blues have made the playoffs in 10 of the last 11 years. Although there hasn't been a ton of success, they have lifted the cup. Their Instagram following increased by 2.47% over the last 12 months.

We've gone through why I think the Senators are having a difficult time growing their Instagram following. Their season has gotten off to a good start though, so maybe the next 12 months will show more growth than the previous 12 months.