Larry > Magic might be the HN bubble, but Magic > Larry definitely is the US bubble.

Most of the world does not care about basketball at all.

Except China. I’m always asked about the NBA when I visit China, and I know nothing about basketball.

In the US, the number one Larry that is a rival to Magic is not even Larry Page.

Hilarious: in the US, Larry Bird a guy who has not played ball in almost 30 years (!) is still way more popular than Larry Page. At least according to G trends.

The the OPs point however, Wikipedia is a special place.

How many people ever paid money to go watch Larry Page at work for a day? Corporate executives have wealth and power; let the ballplayers have the celebrity :)

It should be mentioned, there are also foods banned in the US that are legal in Europe... especially when only few and ambiguous studies are available - risk assignment might lead to different choices.