While it is by no means the best indicator, jersey sales often do give us a good picture of the popularity of NBA players. The face of the NBA for so long has been LeBron James, and the King often ranked at the very top when it came to jersey sales, but it seems like times are changing, in France at least.
The NBA recently released what were the 10 best-selling jerseys in the country, and to the surprise of many, James was all the way down at 5th. That wasn’t the only surprise, however, as there were some curious inclusions and two big exclusions as well.
Top 10 jersey sellers in France pic.twitter.com/y3OhTRZ9pU
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 11, 2022
Reigning Finals MVP Stephen Curry claimed the top spot here, while Ja Morant and Jimmy Butler surprisingly rounded up the top 3. LeBron being down at 5 is surprising, as we said earlier, but nothing is perhaps as surprising as the fact that Rudy Gobert isn’t even in the top 10!
The Stifle Tower is the most well-recognized Frenchman playing in the NBA right now, but it doesn’t look like his country is too enamored with him. Joel Embiid, who has applied for French citizenship, is, in fact, the only one with any french ties on the list, which is very surprising. You normally see people buy jerseys of their fellow countrymen like the Chinese did with Yao Ming, but that isn’t the case here.
Kevin Durant not being in there is also a bit strange, especially when you see Tyler Herro, of all people coming in at 7th. Maybe the French are big fans of the Miami Heat, which would also explain why Butler was so high on the list. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George are the other big names on there in what is, for the most part, a star-studded list. It’s always fascinating to see information like this as there are always some parts that leave you wondering how on earth did that happen, and this one proved to be no different.
