No Title, No Sweat: Curry Tops LeBron In Best-Selling Postseason NBA Jersey Sales
By Barry Janoff
July 7, 2016: Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry has come out ahead of all other NBA players in another category: Top-selling jersey during the period covered by the 2016 playoffs and NBA Finals.
Though it may be small consolation for not winning back-to-back NBA championships, Curry's Golden State Warriors jersey has been the best-selling NBA jersey since the end of the 2014-15 season, based on sales at the NBA's online store.
Meanwhile, the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers had the most popular team merchandise from April through June 2016, a spot the they last held in January 2015.
LeBron James, the NBA Finals MVP, had the second-best selling jersey during the April-June period, while Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving was No. 4 on the list.
The NBA did not release specific sales figures or number of jerseys sold, so there is no way to tell how many more Curry jerseys were sold versus LeBron's.
Curry was joined by three teammates among the Top 15 best-selling jerseys: Klay Thompson (No. 5),
Draymond Green (No. 7) and Andre Iguodala (No. 14).
The newest member of the Warriors, Kevin Durant, was No. 8 with his Oklahoma City Thunder jersey. (Reports out of Oklahoma City said some fans were burning Durant jerseys after he left to sign with the Warriors, but the NBA did no indicate that it would subtract those from his total number of jerseys sold.)
The Top Five best-selling jerseys also included Kobe Bryant at No. 3, who has retired from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kristaps Porzingis (No. 15) of the New York Knicks is the only rookie among the Top 15.
The Warriors had the second most popular team merchandise, followed by the Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Thunder.
Due to free agency, trades and other moves, four of the players listed among the top selling jerseys are no longer with the team whose merchandise they were selling: Bryant has retired from the Lakers, Durant is now with the Warriors, Derrick Rose (No. 10) moved from the Bulls to the Knicks and Dwayne Wade (No. 12) left the Miami Heat to join the Bulls.
Top-Selling NBA Jerseys April-June 2016
1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
2. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
4. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
5. Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
6. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
7. Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
8. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
9. Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
10. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
11. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
12. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
13. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
14. Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors
15. Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks
Top 10 Most Popular Team Merchandise April-June 2016
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Golden State Warriors
3. Los Angeles Lakers
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Oklahoma City Thunder
6. San Antonio Spurs
7. Miami Heat
8. Toronto Raptors
9. New York Knicks
10. Boston Celtics
Source: NBA