The 2018-19 NBA season did not go as LeBron James or the Los Angeles Lakers had hoped, but he and the franchise still made quite the impact off the court. James secured the top spot for the NBA’s best-selling jersey, and the Lakers finished first in team merchandise sales.
Results were based on sales from NBAStore.com and were calculated from the beginning of the 2018-19 regular season. Last season, the Lakers were fourth overall in team sales and had Lonzo Ball (12th) finish among the top jerseys.
James last had the best-selling jersey during the 2014-15 season. Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors spent the past three seasons ranked first in individual jersey and team sales. Curry and the Warriors slipped to second in both categories for the 2018-19 campaign.
After James and Curry, the top five in jersey sales is rounded out by Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 3; his highest ranking ever), the Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving (No. 4) and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid (No. 5; his highest ranking).
On the team merchandise list, the Lakers and Warriors are followed by the Celtics (No. 3), 76ers (No. 4) and Bucks (No. 5).
Other notable highlights include Dwyane Wade concluding his NBA career with the 11th-best selling jersey. Oklahoma City Thunder star Paul George (No. 12) cracked the season-end list for the first time since 2016.
That James and the Lakers paced respective players and teams is hardly a surprise. Particularly when taking into account the Lakers’ re-designed jerseys coinciding with James’ first season with the team.
That factored into LakersStore.com registering one of their top selling days when the new Nike jerseys were made available for purchase.
Top 15 Most Popular NBA Jerseys for 2018-19 season:
1. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
2. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
4. Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics
5. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
6. James Harden, Houston Rockets
7. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
8. Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
9. Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
10. Jimmy Butler, Philadelphia 76ers
11. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
12. Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder
13. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
14. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
15. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Top 10 Most Popular Team Merchandise:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Golden State Warriors
3. Boston Celtics
4. Philadelphia 76ers
5. Milwaukee Bucks
6. Chicago Bulls
7. Oklahoma City Thunder
8. Houston Rockets
9. Toronto Raptors
10. New York Knicks
