On the verge of another MVP, Jokic’s jersey sales barely crack top-15
Apr 23, 2022, 6:10 PM | Updated: Apr 24, 2022, 12:33 am
Nikola Jokic is likely to win his second consecutive MVP award when the voting results are announced soon.
So why aren’t more people buying his jersey?
The NBA released data from jersey sales for the second half of the 2021-22 season (January 13 – April 10) and Jokic was only No. 15 on the list.
The NBA and NBPA today jointly announced that LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers secured the top spots on the NBA’s Most Popular Jersey and Team Merchandise lists.
More ➡️ https://t.co/0hnKJXHFkO pic.twitter.com/5Sct9xuPTo
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 22, 2022
Sure, LeBron James being No. 1 isn’t shocking. He’s a global superstar with reach beyond basketball. But guys like Jayson Tatum and LaMelo Ball selling more jerseys is disappointing. They’re solid players, but Jokic is the best in the world and has been for two seasons now.
The games not being on television locally obviously doesn’t help, as that’s three seasons in a row Denver fans have missed some spectacular basketball. It’d also be nice if Jokic could get more endorsement deals and commercials — his English is quite good despite it not being his native language.
Regardless, with the Nuggets on the verge of being swept by the Golden State Warriors, Jokic’s jersey won’t be selling more due to a deep playoff run. The announcement of another MVP award will help, but a championship is likely needed to launch Jokic consistently into the top-5 of these types of lists.
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