"He was Magic in the 80s and you Jordan in the 90s" - NBA Twitter reacts as 'NBA Centel' hails 'Ballsack Sports'
The NBA Centel, one of the biggest parody pages on social media, and NBA fans on X (formerly Twitter) recently debated the legacy of NBA Centel in comparison to its precursor, Ballsack Sports.
The aforementioned debate started when Centel posted an update on X alleging Draya Michele believes that Bronny James is her soulmate.
"Who got a crazier legacy, Centel or Ballsack Sports?" - One fan enquired
The popular NBA parody account, which is a play on the handle of social media aggregator NBA Central, replied in a series of tweets proclaiming Ballsack Sports as the GOAT having all the notoriety and infamy.
Notably, Ballsack Sports started in 2021, two years before Centel, and focuses not just on basketball but also on several other sports, including baseball and American football.
The discourse about the two parody accounts on X brought up several colorful comparisons.
"He (Ballsack Sports) really was Magic in the 80s and you Jordan (NBA Centel) in the 90s and WNBA centel is the LeBron of spreading false information of the 2010s" - Contended one fan
"Ballsack sacked so centel could centel" - Acknowledged another fan
"I will never forget Daryl Morey bring up @BallsackSports on the radio. I could not believe my ears. That was the true birth of what we have today." - Said one X user
"Ballsack was fooling people with a name like that. They have to get the goat title" - Agreed another fan with NBA Centel's claim
The differences between the two was perhaps most succinctly summed up in the following post:
"Prime Ballsack was in a different league in terms of pure misinformation, but Centel clears in how funny it is." - One fan pointed out
Centel has mainstream recognition now, and 'Centel'd' was acknowledged by Merriam-Webster as a verb after Kevin Durant referenced the account in a X post.
Man behind NBA Centel explains origins of parody account
In a recent profile feature by Front Office Sports, the man behind the popular parody aggregator revealed his primary inspiration. In the interview, the Toronto based fake news purveyor maintained his anonymity while taking a tongue-in-cheek attitude to his infamy.
“Ballsack Sports inspired me and many other troll accounts on this platform. He was the first to truly embrace this style of content, which encouraged me to give it a try and have fun with it. I didn’t expect it to gain as much traction as it did. And yeah, it definitely evolved from the beginning.” - NBA Centel
Centel's hero Ballsack was equally effiusive in his praise of his 'protege' saying,
"I’ve seen time and time again users post screenshots of their friends, coworkers, and family getting ‘cracked,’ ‘sacked,’ or ‘centel’d" - Ballsack Sports
Although these accounts are often amusing, it is important for discerning members of the NBA X space to remember that they are amplifying fake news and be careful not to hurt the sensibilities of those involved in the posts.