Sales of Bryant Jersey Not Nearly as Bad as Thought

Sales of Kobe Bryant’s jersey increased during the holiday season, but the overall popularity of Laker jerseys fell, according to sales at the NBA store in New York City and the NBA store on NBA.com.

Bryant was No. 7 in jersey sales at the end of the 2003-04 basketball season, but he moved up to No. 6 during the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

A Florida market-research firm said last month that Bryant’s jersey finished December at No. 72, a number disputed by the NBA.

As a team, the Lakers fell from No. 1 in jersey sales during the 2003-04 basketball season to No. 8 during the holiday season.

No other Laker besides Bryant was among the top 25 in jersey sales. The New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Houston Rockets led all teams in overall jersey sales.

Individually, Houston guard Tracy McGrady was No. 1 in sales, Miami center Shaquille O’Neal was No. 2 and New York guard Stephon Marbury was No. 3. Denver forward Carmelo Anthony and Cleveland guard LeBron James were fourth and fifth on the list.

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Forward Luke Walton had been an afterthought most of the season, buried on the depth chart mainly because he sat out most of training camp because of a sprained ankle.

He played a season-high 30 minutes Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs and had five points, six rebounds and six assists.

“I always play with a lot of effort,” said Walton, who had been averaging 2.1 points and 8.6 minutes before Friday. “Coach Frank [Hamblen] told me to be ready, so I was mentally getting prepared beforehand. Because of my injuries, I was not really able to show what I could do other than in practice, so I think it helped having Frank see me play before.”