Lakers’ Bryant Tops NBA’s List of Top Jersey Sales; LeBron Second

Twelve players competing in the 2009 playoffs appear on the list. The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James regained the #2 spot, where he ranked in 2005-06, and the New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul climbed to #3, his highest ranking. The Celtics' “Big 3” – Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen – appear on the list at #4, #7 and #12, respectively. Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic's 2009 Defensive Player of the Year, appears in the Top 10 for the first time at #10 and the Chicago Bulls' 2009 Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose ranks #11.

Fans continued to demand Lakers merchandise as the team tops the NBA's list of most popular team merchandise. Lakers merchandise has been the most popular among fans for six out of the last seven seasons. The Celtics fell to second after holding the top spot for the first time during its 2008 championship season. The New York Knicks, Cavaliers and Bulls round out the top five.

2008-09 marks the third season with adidas as the official on-court uniform and apparel provider for the NBA. Sales of NBA jerseys increased 7% over last year at the NBA Store and NBAStore.com combined.

Data compiled from SEW’s SportScanInfo point-of-sale research data shows that Bryant’s jersey claimed the #1 and #4 spots in the top sellers from November through January. Filling out the top ten was a generic Celtics jersey at #2, Garnett’s Celtics jersey at #3, and James’ Cavs jersey at #5, #9 and #10. Rose’s Bulls jersey, a generic Magic jersey, and Chris Paul’s Hornets jersey were #6, #7 and #8, respectively. Kids’ jerseys accounted for four of the top ten sellers. Overall, The Lakers narrowly edged out the Celtics as the top selling team for licensed merchandise.