The NBA Christmas jerseys must be flying off the rack. According to the NBA, jersey sales for the holiday season (Oct. 2013 – Dec. 2013) have broken records.
I have a theory that the Christmas jerseys helped fuel the record-breaking sales because they are more functional for the average fan. T-shirt jerseys or “shirzeys” have always been a popular way to support your team, so making a real “shirzey” was a no brainer. Also, fans were probably motivated to buy the new apparel after seeing the great “Jingle Bells” commercial featuring the biggest stars in the NBA.
LeBron James had the highest number of jerseys sold followed by Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony. Rounding out the top 15 are: Stephen Curry, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Rajon Rondo, Paul George, and Michael Carter-Williams.
An article by Tim Reynolds, AP basketball writer, mentions the new nickname jerseys will also fuel sales when they are released. Reynolds says LeBron will be wearing a “King James” jersey, and Ray Allen is reportedly wearing “J. Shuttlesworth” as a tribute to his character in the movie “He Got Game.” Should be a lot of fun to see what the other players will wear. Will Chris Anderson go with “Birdman?”
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