Data shows majority of U.S. also cheering for Toronto Raptors

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According to a map created by BetOnline, all but three U.S. states (California, Nevada and Hawaii) are cheering for the Raptors ahead of their Game 1 matchup with the Golden State Warriors.

The data is based on how often social media users in each state added #WeTheNorth and #DubNation, the official hashtags of each team, to their tweets.

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He believes there are two primary factors behind the increase in U.S. social media engagement with the Raptors.

“The first one is that the Raptors are a surprise story down south…they’re the underdog story,” he said. “And that I think that the Raptors have a transcending superstar in Kawhi Leonard and I think that Kawhi can steal a game for you, he can steal a series for you, so I think there’s a lot of interest in Kawhi versus the Warriors.”