The NBA released the top-selling players and teams in terms of merchandise sales and unsurprisingly LeBron James led all players in jersey sales while the Los Angeles Lakers sold the most merchandise of any team in the league.
James has now been on the Lakers for two seasons and in both of them, he led the way for individual jersey sales.
In addition, the Lakers also sold the most merchandise last season and the addition of Anthony Davis likely wasn’t going to do anything to change that.
The NBA released the top-15 individuals for jersey sales this season and there are hardly any surprises in the results:
1. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
3. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
5. James Harden, Houston Rockets
6. Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
7. Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
8. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
9. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
10. Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets
11. Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
12. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets
13. Russell Westbrook, Houston Rockets
14. Kemba Walker, Boston Celtics
15. Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
There are few interesting placements here, but nothing truly out of the ordinary. Stephen Curry is showing his popularity by ranking third without having played a game in three months. Jayson Tatum is a bit higher than expected at fourth while Davis is probably lower than expected at eighth. However, Davis’ placement can likely be attributed to the uncertainty of his 2020 NBA free agency as well as his number change to 23 if he does re-sign.
The NBA also released the top-10 teams by total merchandise sales with minimal surprises again:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Boston Celtics
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Toronto Raptors
5. Milwaukee Bucks
6. Golden State Warriors
7. Houston Rockets
8. Chicago Bulls
9. Miami Heat
10. Brooklyn Nets
The Lakers leading the way is not shocking in the slightest. The Boston Celtics coming in at No. 2 also provides little intrigue. The only minor surprise here is the Chicago Bulls ranking in the top-10 due to their lack of success on the court, but they are still a huge market and the team has several promising young players like Zach LaVine and Lauri Markannen.
The Lakers will always be in the top-10 of these rankings but as long as James and Davis are on the team, there’s no doubt they’ll rank at No. 1.
These obviously are not the final figures as those are usually released in April, but it’s unlikely fans will see any movement at the top of the list between now and then.
