Who are the social media superstars of NZ sport?

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya tops the list of New Zealand athletes with most Instagram followers.
Photo: AFP / Carmen Mandato

Who are the most high profile of New Zealand’s myriad of athletes competing on the global stage?

How do we gauge a sports stars global influence?

Salary? Successes? Social media following?

If we took the latter as a sole factor – measured by followers on the Instagram platform – there is one undisputed king.

Number 1- Israel Adesanya- 7.7 million

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya tops the list of New Zealand athletes with most Instagram followers.
Photo: SUPPLIED

Fresh from reclaiming his UFC middleweight championship belt, Adesanya leads the pack for Instagram followers and it’s not even close. As one of the world’s most popular mixed martial arts fighters, the Last Stylebender has amassed nearly 8 million followers on Instagram. Adesayna is very active on the site, often posting promos and creative edits of himself in action.

Number 2 – Kane Williamson- 2.1 million

New Zealand’s Kane Williamson celebrates scoring a double century against Pakistan in Karachi, 2022.
Photo: AFP

The greatest batsman in New Zealand history, Kane Williamson has solid social media numbers which mirror his incredible career stats. No doubt buoyed by a strong Indian following due to his IPL fame, Williamson sits in second spot. His posts include playing the ukulele, plenty of cricket, and his dog Sandy.

Number 3 – Dan Carter-1 million

Dan Carter celebrates the All Blacks World Cup win at Twickenham.
Photo: Photosport

The All Blacks legend was always a popular figure during his playing days and that has continued after hanging up the boots. DC has rubbed shoulders with some big names as seen from the posts with Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Fox and Prince Harry that he has shared with his followers.

Number 4 -Trent Boult- 891k

New Zealand’s Trent Boult thanks the fans.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Similarly to his Black Caps team-mate, Trent Boult has a strong following from the Indian subcontinent thanks to his appearances in the Indian Premier League. The left arm seamer can often be seen on the sea either having a fish, surf or jetski when not terrorising batsmen on the pitch.

Number 5 – Steven Adams- 552k

Steven Adams NBA season is over.
Photo: Photosport

Our biggest basketball export both literally and figuratively, Adams is a cult figure on and off the court. With more than half a million followers, the Memphis Grizzly is loved by American audiences, with his most recent post featuring him starring in an ad for March Madness.

Number 6 – Dan Hooker- 457k

Dan Hooker
Photo: Photosport

Another star out of the City Kick Boxing family, Dan Hooker has carved out a respectable career in the octagon with 22 professional wins. The Hangman’s posts range from training shots, tattoo art to him and his young daughter.

Number 7 – Shaun Johnson- 307k

Kiwis playmaker Shaun Johnson celebrates after a try in the Four Nations.
Photo: Photosport

Having recently returned home from Cronulla, the Warriors prodigal son is playing some of the best football of his career. He’s one half of a sporting power couple with Silver Fern Kayla Johnson (Cullen).

Number 8 – Lydia Ko- 260k

Lydia Ko during the final round of the Palos Verdes Championship Presented by Bank of America at Palos Verdes Golf Club on May 01, 2022 in California.
Photo: AFP

The world’s number one female golfer has accumulated more than $12 million in prize money during her career. Her feed is flooded with shots of her on the course and celebrating numerous championship wins.

Number 9 – Zoi Sadowski-Synnott- 146k

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The youngest athlete on the list, 22-year-old Zoi Sadowski-Synnott will no doubt add to her followers as her very promising career progresses.

Number 10 – Scott Dixon- 145k

Photo: Photosport

Rounding out the top ten is the country’s most successful motorsport athlete, six time Indycar champion, Scott Dixon.

Putting on a global lens, our athletes have some way to go to compete with the biggest stars on the planet.

Cristiano Ronaldo has half a billion followers on Instagram.
Photo: SUPPLIED

Here are the most followed athletes in the world.

Cristiano Ronaldo-574million

Lionel Messi-454million

Virat Kohli-245 million

Neymar-206 million

LeBron James-149 million

Cristiano Ronaldo
Photo: Photosport

– RNZ