The popularity Ben Simmons is through the freakin’ roof, to be quite honest, and the rookie sensation has the numbers to back it up. Not just on-court numbers either. Simmons is proving to be a serious money spinner for the NBA, and he just beat out some of the biggest stars in the league to crack the Top Ten Biggest Selling Jerseys list for the first time.
Simmons’ jersey is such a big ticket item at the moment that it’s managing to outsell the likes of James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and even Klay Thompson of the all-conquering Golden State Warriors.
NBAStore.com has released their sales figures for the period covering October through December last year, and Simmons sales’ performance has been good enough to see him storm onto the list in eighth position.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd82iITHp6i/?taken-by=bensimmons
Fellow Philadelphia 76er and extremely large man Joel Embiid also made his debut on the list, coming in at sixth place on the individual list. Even though they’re teetering on the outer edge of playoff contention, the Sixers’ play is drawing heads a-plenty at the moment, with Philly’s overall team merchandise sales ranking as the third highest in the league currently. That’s the highest merch-selling position that Philly has achieved since the Allen Iverson days of 2003-04, and puts them behind only Golden State and Cleveland on the overall list.
Unsurprisingly, Steph Curry and LeBron James still reign supreme as the league’s top gear shifters, coming in at one and two on the list respectively. Behind them in third sits Curry’s Warriors teammate Kevin Durant.
Peep the full top 15 selling jerseys for this season below:
- Steph Curry – Golden State Warriors
- LeBron James – Cleveland Cavaliers
- Kevin Durant – Golden State Warriors
- Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks
- Kristaps Porzingis – New York Knicks
- Joel Embiid – Philadelphia 76ers
- Russell Westbrook – Oklahoma City Thunder
- Ben Simmons – Philadelphia 76ers
- Kawhi Leonard – San Antonio Spurs
- James Harden – Houston Rockets
- Lonzo Ball – Los Angeles Lakers
- Kyrie Irving – Boston Celtics
- Klay Thompson – Golden State Warriors
- Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers
- Jimmy Butler – Minnesota Timberwolves
Simmons is currently the subject of a dedicated campaign to get him a slot in the NBA All-Star game, which – if it happens – would be the first time a rookie has scored that honour since Blake Griffin took the court during All-Star Weekend back in 2011.
