New Orleans, La.- The first half of the season is in the books, All-Star votes are being tallied, and sales numbers are coming in from the NBA’s accountants. The most recent update from the league has Steph Curry once again the champion of the jersey sales number charts but there is one big name missing from the top 10: Zion Williamson, who sits at 14th.
Curry and the Golden State Warriors just won another Larry O’Brien trophy. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer getting these bragging rights on top makes perfect sense.
The same goes for the team rankings being dominated by the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James is a close second to Curry. Anthony Davis (13th) got an immediate boost to sales with moves from New Orleans and Russell Westbrook still has fans in his hometown to help the Lakers keep their lofty spot in the team standings.
The Pelicans are a small market, sure. But Williamson has billboards up worldwide thanks to a partnership with Nike. The Zion vs. Ja debate is, in my opinion, misguided and misses the point but missing games has hurt Williamson, and by extension the team when it comes to moving merchandise.
It’s the old “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” adage from NASCAR. The more a fan sees Williamson on the court, the more likely they are to buy a jersey or a pair of shoes themselves. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Kevin Durant round out the top five.
Durant plays in New York City with Kyrie Irving (15th). Doncic and Antetokounmpo are playing big minutes every night leading their teams to playoff spots. They are all global names that the hoops fan gets to see a few times a week. Williamson is a week away from a weeks-long absence.
Oct 23, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) is injured on a play by a Utah Jazz player during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
To combat the crowded small market argument, the Bucks and Mavericks are second and maybe even third options in their respective markets as well, depending on college or hockey allegiances, behind the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. Both of those teams had playoff hopes entering the final week, unlike the neighboring New Orleans Saints.
Getting back to the list, Jayson Tatum (7th), Devin Booker (8th), Joel Embiid (9th), and Damian Lillard (10th) completed the top 10 behind Morant. Trae Young (11th) and LaMelo Ball (12th) also finished the front half of the schedule in front of Williamson.
Besides Ball, who has had a huge social media following since junior high, every other name on this list has one thing in common which Williamson is missing: a big post-season run to at least a Game 7 with a conference finals trip on the line.
(Embiid is one Kawhi Leonard as a Toronto Raptor bounce away from shortening that last qualifier to only conference finalist.)
Dec 9, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) against the Phoenix Suns during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Trae, Dame, and Luka all fell short of the NBA Finals. The rest of these All-NBA talents have played for a title. Well, except Ja but the Memphis Grizzlies are fighting for homecourt advantage while the Pelicans are falling down the standings. New Orleans only has 36 more games to go before the postseason, and Williamson will miss at least a few more games as he returns from a hamstring injury.
Those are missed opportunities to not only build chemistry with the team, which is most important no doubt but also throw down some highlight dunks that move the product. All it takes is one though, when the stakes are the highest, to get a new wave of attention towards his jerseys. Then the Pelicans might crack the Top 10 for the first time in franchise history.
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