Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James were among the superstars who paced the NBA in jersey sales during the second half of the 2023-24 season.
SNY’s Ian Begley shared the list of the top 15 players in terms of jersey sales and the top 10 teams in terms of merchandise sales during the second half on Friday:
Not surprisingly, a pair of all-time greats and future Hall of Famers in Curry and James led the way. They were joined in the top five by a perennial All-Star in Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum at No. 3, likely NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs at No. 4 and two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks at No. 5.
As for the teams with the most overall merch sales during the second half, James’ Lakers led the way, followed by the Celtics, Warriors, Bucks and Chicago Bulls.
Iconic players like Curry and James always seem to have strong jersey sales, but it likely didn’t hurt that they continue to perform at an elite level deep into their careers.
Steph, 36, was named an All-Star for the 10th time this season. The two-time NBA MVP, four-time NBA champion and one-time NBA Finals MVP also averaged 26.4 points, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 4.8 three-pointers made per contest.
Expectations were through the roof when the Spurs used the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft to take the 7’4″ Frenchman, but he has arguably been even better than advertised.
Wemby averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.8 three-pointers made, 1.2 steals and a league-leading 3.6 blocks per game in his debut season.
Despite being just 20 years of age, Wembanyama is a leading NBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and he would be the youngest player to ever win the award.
Also, even though the Spurs had the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 22-60, they were ninth in team merchandise sales during the second half, which speaks to Wemby’s impact.
LeBron is the oldest player in the NBA at 39, but he showed no signs of slowing down in his 21st NBA season.
The 20-time All-Star, four-time NBA champion, four-time NBA champion, four-time NBA Finals MVP and all-time leading NBA scorer averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 three-pointers made and 1.3 steals in 71 games, which were his most games played since the 2017-18 season.
James also helped the Lakers secure the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, and they beat the New Orleans Pelicans in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game to reach the playoffs.
While Curry and James are legends, Wembanyama is perhaps the fastest-rising star in the sport of basketball.