We’ve reached the second half of the NBA season with two teams comfortably leading their conferences. In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers (36-7) are on pace for their best season ever, while the Oklahoma City Thunder (36-8) are doing the same in the West. The starters for the All-Star Game, which will be played February 16 at the Chase Center, home of the Warriors, were also announced. This year’s All-Star Game will feature many familiar faces from last year, as all 10 starters also played in 2024. In the West, four of last year’s five starters return (LeBron James, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant). The only change is Stephen Curry replacing Luka Doncic, who has been out with an injury since last month, had it not been for his injury, the starting five would surely have been the same.
Top-Selling NBA Jerseys to the All-Star Game
The East is a different story. Only Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo are returning, while the other three starters (Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Donovan Mitchell) also played in last year’s All-Star Game, but as reserves. KAT, in particular, played for the West because he was still with Minnesota at the time.
Everyone knows that All-Star voting is more of a popularity contest than anything else, though of course that popularity is earned by playing well. In fact, nine of the 10 starters for this year’s All-Star Game are among the top 15 best-selling jerseys of the season, with only KAT missing from the list. Frankly, I think the other six best-selling jerseys will make an appearance as well, barring injuries that prevent them from playing.
Of the top 15 jerseys sold at this time last season, only four players have changed, while the other 11 remain the same. Curry again leads the list, followed by LeBron James (2) and Jayson Tatum (3). Naturally, the leaders of the top teams in each conference, SGA with OKC and Mitchell with the Cavs, made their way into this year’s top selling jerseys after being out last season. Jalen Brunson, now ranked fourth, and young Anthony Edwards also made the list this season.
Among the players who dropped out are two from the 76ers, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, due to the team’s poor season, as well as Damian Lillard and De’Aaron Fox. Victor Wembanyama remains in the top five, and I have no doubt he’ll claim the top spot for years to come. Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball are also back on the list, this time with higher jersey sales, while Kevin Durant and Devin Booker of the Suns remain on the list, but have dropped in the rankings this season.
A Tight MVP Race
Interestingly, the top three MVP candidates are all together on the jersey sales list: Giannis at #9, Jokic at #10, and SGA at #11. Will they finish in the same order for the MVP race? I doubt it. I think it is very likely that Jokic could win his fourth MVP award or that Shai could win his first. If Shai wins, he will be the seventh consecutive player born outside the United States to win the MVP award. The last American to win the award was James Harden in 2018. As the second half of the season progresses, I think these three players will remain the top MVP candidates. Personally, I think Jokic will win again and tie LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain with four awards, still behind Michael Jordan’s five and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s six.