The NBA world has lost a legend.
Not a player, not a coach, not even a referee—but rather a parody social media account that has tipped the league upside down a time or two over the last several years.
The X (formerly Twitter) account “@TheNBACentel,” a play on the NBA news aggregation page “NBACentral,” was effectively shut down on Wednesday afternoon and has since had all of its posts deleted. The account had amassed a follower count of 150k+ on the platform and was well known for not only spreading fake stories and misinformation about the league, but also for having many prominent sports media professionals fall for the gags.
Getting “Centel’d” became a thing. Now? It may be a thing of the past.
Given the popularity of the account and its notoriety on the internet, the NBA world—and even some verified NBA team accounts—paid tribute to the loss of Centel on X. Here’s a look at some of the best reactions to the news:
RIP Centel.
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 26, 2025
We’d like to dedicate this win to NBACentel 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/vAxd4v10Fe
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 27, 2025
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) February 27, 2025
Forever in our hearts #RIPCentel 🕊️
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 27, 2025
NO MORE GETTING CENTEL’D pic.twitter.com/4Qt7g46zSB
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 27, 2025
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) February 27, 2025
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) February 27, 2025
The typa run Centel went on 😭 pic.twitter.com/qkpSCfNaC0
— Overtime (@overtime) February 27, 2025
Today we lost a generational talent. The word GOAT is thrown around so much nowadays that it loses its significance.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Centel you were the GOAT.
Hail fellow well met. Goodnight sweet prince.
A first ballot Twitter hall of famer pic.twitter.com/8GQIPTFQHE
— O’Shea Jackson Jr (@OsheaJacksonJr) February 26, 2025
They finally got Centel
A tragic day in NBA Twitter history pic.twitter.com/dvNRg6YpeO
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) February 26, 2025
We’ll miss you, Centel. Gone, but never forgotten.
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