The all-time best NBA jerseys

The 15 Best-Selling NBA Jerseys of All-Time

When we talk about which NBA shirts are the best of all time, “best” can be defined in a lot of different ways. There are the best jerseys in terms of design and style, and there are the best jerseys in terms of how popular they are and how quickly (or regularly) they sell out.

The only problem with the NBA’s official best-selling jerseys is that they don’t say which players’ home or away jerseys, throwbacks, or special city edition outfits sold the most. We’ll look at the NBA jerseys that were the most famous and sold the most. We’re putting together some information about the best NBA shirts in terms of design and style.

The NBA’s Best Selling Jerseys of All-Time

One easy way to figure out which jerseys are the best of all time is to define “best” as the outfits that sold the most in any given year. For this, it’s a good thing that we have cold, hard facts from the horse’s mouth. Since at least the turn of the century, the NBA has been keeping track of how many official NBA jerseys are sold through their NBA store. Since then, they have shared this information every year. But does that mean it’s the best shirt in terms of style, design, and how popular the players are? Most likely not to the first, and maybe to the second.

The good news is that we’ve found a trend in that data. Most of the time, the jerseys that sell the most are for one of the two teams that play in the NBA Finals that year. It’s clear that the jersey belongs to that team’s best player. This has happened 11 of the 17 years for which we have official figures on how many jerseys were sold.

We looked at all of this information and came up with a list of the best NBA shirts of all time. This can also be read as the most well-known players in the league’s history.

#1 Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant led league in jerseys sales 5x

No matter what you think of Kobe Bryant’s style of play, you can’t deny that he is one of the most popular players in the game and one of the most influential players of all time. People who grew up watching the NBA in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s looked up to Jordan. The Black Mamba is it.

We’ve put Kobe’s shirt at number two on the list of the best-selling NBA jerseys of all time because of how much he has meant to the game. His legacy is strengthened by the fact that he won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, sold the most jerseys in five seasons, changed his jersey number from #8 to #24 in 2005, which made fans buy more of his jerseys, and played in the league’s second biggest market.

You can get them in the Lakers’ white “Association” jersey, which is a famous alternate, or in the classic purple and gold.

#2 Magic  Johnson

Magic Johnson is 2nd Best Selling Jersey

No matter what you think of Magic Johnson as a front office guy or as an analyst after he retired from basketball, he was untouchable and loved by everyone when he was playing. He not only brought the Lakers back to power, but he also worked with Larry Bird (and NBA marketing) to start the NBA’s Golden Era.

During the 1980s, Magic Johnson led the Los Angeles Lakers to seven trips to the NBA Finals and five titles. His fame stayed high throughout the 1980s, and the fact that he played for the city with the second most people in the country only helped jersey sales.

#3 Michael  Jordan

MJ has Best Selling NBA Jersey of All-Time

We don’t have exact numbers because Jordan played before the NBA started keeping track of jersey sales, but this UPI story from 2008 says that Jordan’s jersey was the best seller when the NBA Store released its list of the top 10 best sellers of all time.

Even though we don’t have sales numbers to prove it, we’re sure that Michael Jordan’s NBA shirt is the one that has sold the most. The classic red or white Chicago Bulls #23 shirt must have topped the best-seller lists in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, when Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the Bulls played the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals and won three straight times.

In fact, we would say that Jordan’s jersey is probably #1 by a large margin, since many current NBA players still name him as their basketball inspiration and he is often called the GOAT, which stands for “the greatest of all time.” You can choose from a range of official Michael Jordan jerseys at NBAstore.com to help him stay at the top. They have all of his Chicago Bulls jerseys, including the famous NBA Star jersey he wore in 1991 and 1993.

#4 LeBron James

LeBron James’ Best Jerseys

Between 2016 and 2018, LeBron James went from being talked about as one of the best players who had ever played to being talked about as the best player of all time. No matter what you think, the fact that some people think LeBron could have taken Jordan’s place says something.

Even though people might argue about who is number one, LeBron’s shirts are the third most popular of all time. In the 2010s, he topped the list of best-selling books, and the fact that he led his teams to the NBA Finals eight times in a row made his shirts fly off the shelves in Cleveland, Miami, and now Los Angeles.

In 2011, LeBron did a Kobe when he changed his shirt number from 23 to 6, saying it was to honor Michael Jordan. During that time, he told other players wearing #23 to do the same. That didn’t happen, because when LeBron moved back to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015, he went back to wearing #23 again, which is the number he wore when he played for the Los Angeles Lakers.

You can buy LeBron’s shirts here. From his time with Cleveland to his time with Miami to his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, his Mitchell & Ness Cavs shirt or his Miami Heat #6 jerseys tell the story.

#5 Steph Curry

This list is full of great NBA players, and Stephen Curry is right there with them. Curry didn’t start out on fire when he joined the NBA, but once he found his game, he would change the league for good. And because of that, he will not only rewrite but also totally destroy the records for three-point shooting.

Curry would use his skills to become the first player to win the MVP award unanimously and to win four NBA titles. His success, reputation as a good guy, and fame are shown by the fact that he led the league in jersey sales for three straight years (2016, 2017, and 2018). Curry will move up this list if he stays at the top of his game for the next few years and wins another title or two.

#6 Shaquille O’Neal

Shaq’s has the 6th Best Selling Jersey

Shaquille O’Neal dominated the NBA from 2000 to 2004, when he was at the top of his game, mowing down and dunking on all of his opponents on his way to three straight NBA championships. In 2000, he led the league in scoring and cemented his reputation as the most dominant force the league has seen since Wilt Chamberlain.

#7 Larry Bird

Larry Bird is 7th Best Selling Jersey

Larry Bird wasn’t just a good white player; he was a basketball genius. In the 1980s, he and Magic helped bring the league back to life with the best feud it has ever seen. In the 1980s, Bird won three NBA MVP awards in a row (1985, 1986, and 1987). He also led the Celtics to three NBA championships (1981, 1984, and 1986) in five trips to the NBA Finals.

We can be sure that his outfits were the most popular in the league, not just in Boston but everywhere. When Bird won the NBA title or was named the league’s most valuable player, jerseys flew off the shelves (and yes, the fact that he was white helped). The fact that Bird was unbeatable during that decade makes it clear that his shirt is one of the best in NBA history.

#8 Julius Erving

Dr. J Best Selling Jersey

Julius “Dr. J” Erving was MJ before MJ, and his fame in the league was boosted by his aerial acrobatics and cool personality. This was a combination the league had never seen before, but there was much more to Julius Erving than the highlights.

Erving’s jersey sales are boosted by the fact that, after joining the NBA, he won both the Most Valuable Player award in 1981 and the NBA title in 1983, two years later. Julius’ ABA, New Jersey Nets, and Philadelphia 76ers jerseys have been some of the most famous throwback jerseys ever since he retired. We think that Dr. J’s shirt is one of the top ten best-selling jerseys of all time for these reasons.

#9 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Based on what we know about shirt sales and how little the NBA was watched before the 1980s, it’s much harder for a player from before the “Golden Era” to have a top-selling jersey on this list. But Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would be the only person on this list who isn’t Dr. J who we think should be there. The league’s all-time top scorer played for the Los Angeles Lakers during the showtime era. On his resume, he has six NBA championships, six NBA MVP trophies, and two Finals MVP awards. We think it’s safe to say that the star sold his fair share of jerseys during his 20 years in the NBA.

#10 Allen Iverson

We think that, like Magic and Bird, AI had one of the best-selling shirts in the NBA when he was there. Allen Iverson was one of the best players in the league, pound for pound. He was also one of the most popular players in the league and had a big cultural effect.

#11 Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon’s legacy and fame grew after he won two NBA titles between Michael Jordan’s three-peats. The center, who was born in Nigeria, was named MVP, NBA Finals MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year during his career. He also played in three NBA Finals (1986, 1994, and 1995).

Before 2001, our method for figuring out the best-selling jerseys had one constant flaw that went against our whole idea that the best-selling jerseys usually came from NBA title teams and MVPs. The San Antonio Spurs were that one team that stood out. Even though the Spurs were fun to watch, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, or Tony Parker never led the league in jersey sales during any of their five title runs in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, or 2014.

You may have noticed that the Spurs won in 1999, so how did we know that David Robinson’s shirt wasn’t the most popular that year? Well, Tim Duncan, who was only in his second season at the time, was named the Finals MVP. Duncan was also the Finals MVP in 2003 and 2005, and we have information about those years. Plus, DRob was already 34 and nearing the end of his career, so it’s likely that neither he nor Timmy’s shirt was the best-selling one in 1999.

Other Best-Sellling NBA Jerseys

Here are some of the other players whose shirts have sold the most since the NBA began keeping track.