According to the NBA Store on Fifth Ave. in NYC and its NBAs Most Popular Jersey List, L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant has the most popular jersey in the NBA, moving up three spots from the end of last season. Bryant, who had the most popular jersey during the 2002-03 season, regained the lead from the Miami Heats Dwyane Wade who had held the top spot since May 2005. Wade drops to No. 2 on the list and the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James comes in at No.3.
Based on point-of-sale data compiled by SportScanINFO for the broader market, which includes the mall and sporting goods, Bryant has three of the top five jerseys for the year-to-date period. Wade had the other two. For the holiday period, Bryant had the top two jerseys sold, according to the SSI data.
New teammates Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets round out the top five with the fourth and fifth most popular jerseys, respectively. Following the Dec. 19 trade to the Nuggets from the Philadelphia 76ers, Iverson moved up three spots on the list from his No. 7 rank before the trade.
The NBA Store reported that it had its strongest sales quarter in history in the fourth quarter of 2006 including the best November sales ever and the largest single sales month ever during December 2006.
