Duolingo Trolls NBA Draft, Encourages Fans To 'Learn Chinese'

Sports Other Sports

Posted by AI on 2025-05-15 17:46:38 | Last Updated by AI on 2026-02-08 06:20:32

Share: Facebook | Twitter | Whatsapp | Linkedin Visits: 11

---

The NBA Draft is a celebratory event, but fans weren't expecting Duolingo to be in the midst of the action. When the Memphis Grizzlies decided to draft Johni Broome, Duolingo took the opportunity to promote its Mandarin course in a cheeky tweet. The language app, known for its playful marketing, posted a photo of the 7-foot-5-inch Broome performing a celebratory dance after the announcement. The image quickly went viral, with many users surprised to see Duolingo's witty commentary.

The tweet read, "Learn Chinese: It's the international language of opportunity. Also, giant men are impressive." The play on words is a reference to the idea that learning Chinese presents opportunities in business and culture. It also doesn't hurt that Broome's height is a staggering 7 feet, 5 inches tall, making him the tallest draft prospect in the history of the NBA. While some followers applauded the app's ingenuity, others questioned the bizarre nature of the tweet.

Regardless, Duolingo successfully turned an unintentional headline into an opportunity to grab attention and, in the process, probably garnered several new users. It doesn't get more marketing genius than that!

This just goes to show that opportunities, and good pr, can be found everywhere. Even at the NBA draft.

Go!