NBA: LeBron and Curry beaten by Slovenia’s Doncic for jersey sales
Slovenian Luka Doncic has become the first overseas NBA player to top the list of the most popular jerseys in American basketball.
It is the first time in over a decade that a player outside of LeBron James or Stephen Curry has held the title, when New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony was the jersey in demand.
The 26-year-old joined the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this year from the Dallas Mavericks in a three-way NBA deal in which Anthony Davis was traded the other way.
Curry of the Golden State Warriors is second with Lakers teammate James third – the top five were completed by Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson.
The rankings are based on shirt sales from NBAStore.com and while the league did not release actual figures to go with their announcement, they did show that players from 12 clubs made the top 15.
NBA on the rise
“The Lakers’ James [3.23bn views], Curry [2.56bn views] and the Lakers’ Doncic [1.82bn views] topped the list of the most-viewed players on NBA social and digital platforms during the regular season,” the league added. “The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tripled his total view count from last season with 1.06bn views.”
Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns were the only three clubs to see more than one player in the top three.
It comes as the NBA also revealed that the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics to top spot for NBA merchandise sales.
Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls completed the top five; while Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves rounded out the top 10.
NBA has been flirting with an NBA Europe league, which would use the existing branding of major Champions League football clubs to establish a franchise competition this side of the Atlantic.