This is the kind of data that we like. In the NBA, who are the players and which franchises sell the most jerseys in the United States? Lids stores give the answer in a dual mapping by state of top sellers across the chain’s more than 2,000 stores. And the least we can say is that the market is outrageously dominated by LeBron James and his current Lakers franchise.
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The King and the team purple & gold are in the lead in about thirty states (out of the 52 in the country). The jerseys of the quadruple NBA champion are logically among the best-selling in Ohio, Florida and California, where he played, but they are also snapped up where current franchises are evolving (Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas). Same for the Lakers.
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Both cards also reveal some nice surprises. The biggest being the jerseys of Yao Ming and Mike Bibby always among the best selling, respectively in Montana and Alabama. As a reminder: the Chinese interior has played his entire career at the Houston Rockets (Texas), and we are still trying to find out why Bibby, born in New Jersey and who played in university in Arizona, is so popular in this State of South.
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Still on the player side, the grandpas are resisting. Several retired glories are still commercial successes: Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, Grant Hill, Steve Nash, Scottie Pippen, the late Kobe Bryant and his highness Michael Jordan. Speaking of His Airness, the sport’s most famous number 23 Chicago Bulls are the number 1 franchise in eight states. Is it due to the current good season of the Bulls or the legacy of the greatest dynasty in history? We cannot say.
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