Best Sports Figure Twitter Takeovers

Social media takeovers are a common enough occurrence in sports these days. The idea is a sports figure will compose tweets on behalf of a team, league or sponsor for a period of time. And just for today, we'll include one particularly notable Q&A from J.J. Watt's own account as well.

A lot of the time, social media takeovers and Q&As just result in a lot of venomous trolling (see: #AskCommish or #AskJesus) that is sometimes funny but often not. Instead of that business, let's take a look at some true Twitter gems.

Some of these social media sessions were hilarious (thank you, Shaquille O'Neal), and others were great simply because of the icons who presided over them. And the best? Well, the best had both.

Daniel Bryan

Professional wrestler Daniel Bryan is a huge Seattle Seahawks fan, and the team allowed him to take over its Twitter account leading up to Super Bowl XLIX. The WWE star revealed his ideal Seahawk tag team partner (Walter Jones) and the current player he believes is the best corner in the game (Richard Sherman, obviously). 

Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard is nothing if not a fun-lover. That's probably why his 2014 takeover of the Houston Rockets' social media accounts was funnier than most. Howard talked about his favorite dunk, basketball superstitions and Houston rappers. He even showed fans how to do the Nae Nae.

Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan appeared at a Golden State Warriors game in November, and he spent a little time on the team's Twitter account while he was there. The tweets themselves weren't overly hilarious, but come on, it's Hulk Hogan. There was, predictably, an overuse of the word "brother."

J.J. Watt

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt held an impromptu Twitter Q&A in March. Most of the questions and answers were pretty basic, although Watt did prove (yet again) what a great guy he is with a shout-out to his mom. The real star of this Q&A was Indianapolis Colts long snapper Matt Overton, who took the opportunity to plead for his life.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant's 2012 takeover of the @nikebasketball Twitter handle was great, mainly because Bryant didn't yet have Twitter himself. There was an ice bath photo and a reference to Santa Claus—nothing crazy funny, but it was still great to have that type of access to the Mamba back then. 

Bonus: One of the Bryant's greatest social media moments happened in 2013 when he watched his historic 81-point game for the first time and live-tweeted the action. Shaquille O'Neal even chimed in: "Question Kobe did u wake up and say I'm a hit 80 today,  jalens guarding me. #answermyquestionkobe." Hilarious.

Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is famous for valuing his privacy, and he doesn't have any personal social media accounts. That's why the Q&A for his Players' Tribune website was so cool for fans. Jeter answered fan questions, and as per usual, he kept it very clean and professional...except for this cat joke. Or maybe he was serious. #Capgotcatjokes.

Deadspin

Dan Le Batard once gave Deadspin his baseball Hall of Fame vote, and the Atlanta Hawks later did the same thing with its team Twitter account. For real.

Deadspin's Drew Magary filled the takeover session with a lot of bird jokes and, well, more bird jokes. At one point, there was a re-designed Hawks logo and a team name change. The ridiculousness of it all led some to believe the account had been hacked. Props to the Hawks for this bold move.

Frank Kaminsky

Frank Kaminsky recently took over the Sports Illustrated Twitter account in anticipation of the NBA draft lottery. The reigning national player of the year proved to be pretty hilarious, suggesting NCAA student athletes get paid in burritos and professing his love for Katy Perry.

Vin Scully

Legendary Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully took over the team's Twitter account in 2013, and it was delightful. Scully answered questions from fans and provided opinions about everything from his broadcasting career to the NBA Finals. And of course, there were some great Scully-isms sprinkled in, including, "Holy Mackerel" and "Hot diggity dog." Classic.

Shaquille O'Neal

What was the best thing about Shaquille O'Neal's 2013 takeover of the Sacramento Kings' Twitter account? ALL THE ALL-CAPS. Also the hashtag #Shaqramento. Also the call for someone to give him $20 for ice cream. You know what? It was all the best.

Rob Delaney

A comedian takeover is one way to ensure social media hilarity. Rob Delaney commandeered the MLB Twitter account in 2013, and the results were everything we could've hoped for. Delaney told jokes galore and proved his love for baseball with this tweet: "Comparing baseball to football is like comparing apples to oranges. Tasty, shiny apples to rotten, bug filled oranges."

Michael Jordan

As it turns out, the G.O.A.T. of basketball might also be the G.O.A.T. of Twitter takeovers. 

Michael Jordan, owner of the Charlotte Hornets, took over the team's Twitter account in October. The #MJtakeover did not disappoint, with the best moment coming courtesy of golfer Keegan Bradley. Bradley learned the hard way that Jordan can be just as deadly on social media as he was on basketball court.