Luka Doncic leads NBA in jersey sales after Lakers-Mavericks trade

The NBA released the jersey sale leaders for the 2024-25 season on Monday, with Luka Doncic topping the list over Stephen Curry and LeBron James, the first since the 2012-13 season that someone other than those two stars led in jersey sales. Another former Maverick star, Jalen Brunson, checked in at 5th.

Doncic also became the first international player to ever top the jersey sale charts. It helps when two he's the favorite player of two fanbases, as Mavericks fans have mourned the loss of their superstar player to a rival franchise, as evidenced by his return to Dallas last week. People were cheering more for Doncic than they were for the Mavericks, and the jerseys were split fairly evenly among Mavericks and Lakers Doncic jerseys. And Lakers fans have embraced him with open arms, as they should, even if they feel slightly dirty with how the trade went down.

Sales were likely increased in the immediate aftermath of the trade as Dallas fans tried to round up the last of his Mavericks jerseys before they were pulled from shelves.

It'll be a long time before the Mavericks have someone as marketable as Doncic if they ever do again. Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis are great players, but they weren't homegrown superstars like Doncic was, a player the fanbase felt a real connection with. That's something that can't be replaced, no matter what Nico Harrison believes.