A few times a season, the NBA releases a ranking of their top-selling jerseys for the season. If the last few seasons are any indication, we’ll usually get best-selling jersey rankings in December. The second time they release jersey numbers are in April as the NBA Playoffs begin. Then once more in June at the an end of the season.
Basketball jersey sales don’t just represent the NBA’s most-popular players for that particular season, but gives us a sense of the zeitgeist of the league from that season. Kind of like “oh yeah, Derrick Rose was a superstar and MVP that season” and “Was ‘Linsanity’ that long ago?”
Before we dive too deep into the importance of popular jersey sales lists, here is the NBA’s best selling jerseys from the last 14 NBA seasons.
| Season | Player | Team | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | Yes |
| 2016-17 | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | Yes |
| 2015-16 | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | No |
| 2014-15 | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers | Yes |
| 2013-14 | LeBron James | Miami Heat | No |
| 2012-13 | Carmelo Anthony | New York Knicks | No |
| 2011-12 | Derrick Rose | Chicago Bulls | No |
| 2010-11 | LeBron James | Miami Heat | No |
| 2009-10 | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers | Yes |
| 2008-09 | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers | Yes |
| 2007-08 | Kevin Garnett | Boston Celtics | Yes |
| 2006-07 | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers | No |
| 2005-06 | Dwyane Wade | Miami Heat | Yes |
| 2004-05 | Shaquille O'Neal | Miami Heat | No |
NBA Jerseys: Popular NBA Players and Championship Contenders
There’s no surprises here on the list. We have Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James each with three appearances on the list. More often than not, the best selling jersey comes from a team that either won the championship, or was the in the Finals. Except for the unsexy-yet-successful Tim Duncan-led San Antonio Spurs. In this list, the Spurs won titles in 2004-05, 2006-07, and 2013-14 and still couldn’t overcome the popularity of Shaq, Kobe and LeBron.
The last several years has seen Curry and LeBron at the top of jersey sales. And it will be likely be between the two again this year with LeBron’s move out West. Despite some of the reception the King has received in Los Angeles, no doubt his Purple and Gold #23 jersey sales will be bolstered by playing with the Los Angeles Lakers, which is the second largest city in the United States by population, and the most profitable NBA franchise.
On the surface, this list doesn’t seem as they mean much of anything, but it does give us a sense of how NBA fans’ opinions on players may differ to those of sports writers, announcers and media folks. Case in point, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a sports writer singing the praises of Carmelo Anthony, but Melo has the most jersey sales in 2013.
Looking at the full list shows how quickly things can change for some players and gives us more appreciation for those that have remained on top over the years.
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