FirstCuts: Jordan Rules NBA Store’s First Decade

By Chris Littmann
Sports don’t start and end with a referee’s whistle. FirstCuts, a blog dedicated to sports culture, will cover everything outside the lines, from games to gear.
Michael Jordan, who retired from 1999-2001 and then again in 2003 for good (we think?), still managed to stay in the hearts and minds of enough fans to top the NBA Store’s most popular jersey list of the last decade. Conveniently enough, that’s how long the shop has been around.
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Kobe’s head isn’t relevant to this post.
NBA Store Most Popular Jerseys, From 1998-2008:
1. Michael Jordan
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Allen Iverson
4. LeBron James
5. Shaquille O’Neal
6. Tracy McGrady
7. Dwyane Wade
8. Jason Kidd
9. Vince Carter
10. Tim Duncan
Let me recap my short list of NBA jerseys I own: Joe Smith, Warriors. Yeah, that’s the only NBA jersey I’ve ever owned to this day. To my surprise, my contribution did not crack the top 10.
How long before a young gun (Chris Paul? Dwight Howard?) or an international player (Dirk Nowitzki? Yao Ming?) cracks this list? I’ll hedge my bets slightly toward the Chris Paul camp as the next guy to break into this group, but Howard is a close second.
The top-selling jersey list is the NBA Store’s way of saying, “It’s our birthday, come buy things -- or have your Bar Mitzvah here!” For a full list of what’s going on with the NBA Store’s 10th anniversary, check out its web site.↵