Even within a disappointing season, what many would call the most disappointing season in Los Angeles Lakers history, the brand remains strong. Lakers superstar LeBron James topped the NBA in jersey sales based on sales from NBAStore.com from the second half of the 2021-22 season, the league announced.
James has been at the top of the jersey sales chart all year long as he also led in sales during the first half of the season, while the Lakers also led in all merchandise sales.
James at the top of the list is the constant, but the rest of the list saw some shuffling around. Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden was second on the list, undoubtedly boosted by his trade deadline move to Philly and the fans excitement surrounding it.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, second during the first half of the season, dropped to third while Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant remained in the fourth spot. Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum occupied the fifth spot, rising in tune with his team’s rise to one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
A pair of MVP candidates follow that with 76ers big man Joel Embiid coming in at sixth while Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is seventh. Embiid actually moved up from 11th on the first half sales list while The Greek Freak fell from third. They are followed by arguably the game’s best young superstars as Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic is eighth and Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is ninth.
Rounding out the top-10 is one of the league’s most polarizing stars in Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving. James’ former teammate had an absolutely scintillating second half of the season that surely helped in this regard as well.
The top-15 is full of plenty familiar faces as Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young and Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson sit at 11th and 12th respectively. Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker is 13th while Charlotte Hornets rising star LaMelo Ball is 14th.
The final spot is taken by the man who could very well win back-to-back NBA MVP awards in Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
Despite struggling with injuries all season long, LeBron James had an absolutely unbelievable season in his 19th year in the NBA. In 56 games, James averaged a career-high 30.3 points along with 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
Lakers lead NBA in merchandise sales
Much like James maintaining the top spot, the Lakers franchise also remained at the top of team merchandise sales for the second half of the NBA season. Once again it shows how strong the Lakers fan base is regardless of the team’s record.
Rounding out the top-5 in order were the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets.
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