Overview

• NBACentel, a parody account mimicking the NBA news aggregator NBA Central, was briefly banned from X but returned on Thursday morning.
• The account, which has gained over 360,000 followers, is widely known for its humorous fake news posts that have fooled NBA players, teams, and media figures.
• NBA teams, including the Sacramento Kings, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic, publicly expressed support for the account during its absence, with some dedicating wins to it.
• Speculation about the ban points to X's enforcement of stricter guidelines on parody accounts under Elon Musk's leadership, though no official reason has been confirmed.
• The term 'centel’d,' coined to describe being tricked by the account's posts, was officially recognized as a verb by Merriam-Webster in 2024.