Over the years, numerous sports media figures within the NBA have been misled by the notorious satire account “NBA Centel.” However, on Wednesday, the account removed all its previous posts, potentially marking its definitive end.
This satirical handle, distinct from “NBA Central,” which shares genuine NBA news, has fooled many sports personalities, including Stephen A. Smith, Colin Cowherd, and athletes such as Kevin Durant and Tyler Herro. Recently, Cowherd was duped by a report on Monday’s episode of The Herd that stated the Dallas Mavericks would prevent fans wearing Luka Dončić jerseys from attending Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers—an outright falsehood, given the game took place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Now, upon visiting the NBA Centel account on X, you will find no posts, accompanied by a message indicating the account has yet to share anything. It’s uncertain whether the account has been suspended, locked, or is under review for potential termination. Regardless, both fans and sports media members have noticed the absence of posts and have taken to X to express their opinions. “Rip Centel,” tweeted Stephen A. Smith.
RIP Centel.
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 26, 2025
Fellow satirical account “Ballsack Sports” chimed in with “#FreeCentel let’s get it trending.”
#FreeCentel let’s get it trending
— Ballsack Sports (@BallsackSports) February 26, 2025
“The type of run Centel went on,” shared Overtime alongside an image of the Golden State Warriors celebrating their championship.
The typa run Centel went on 😭 pic.twitter.com/qkpSCfNaC0
— Overtime (@overtime) February 27, 2025
While it seems the flow of misinformation from NBA Centel has been curtailed on X, the anonymous creator appears to have pivoted to their Instagram account, which is still disseminating erroneous “reports.” On Wednesday, the NBA Centel Instagram claimed that LeBron James would retire after the 2024-25 NBA season—a statement as yet unverified by James.
NBACentel is still bringing it on Instagram. https://t.co/pqoXgW2EY6 pic.twitter.com/gSNbTHt2TE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 26, 2025
X, formerly Twitter, remains the preeminent social media platform for sports reporting. Therefore, the apparent inability for NBA Centel to post currently is a positive development for those seeking accurate news without the risk of misinformation. Nevertheless, given the existence of other satirical accounts that continue to operate on X, it is likely that another account similar to NBA Centel will soon emerge to spread more misinformation.
