Jason Collins made his return to the NBA on Sunday night as the first active openly gay athlete in league history, and on Tuesday his jersey became available at NBAStore.com due to incredibly high demand from basketball fans around the globe, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York.
Jason Collins’ No. 98 jersey tops NBA Store sales on Tuesday
The jersey went on sale after the league was flooded with inquiries of its availability just two days after Collins’ Nets debut.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Not only did the No. 98 jersey -- which he will wear the rest of the season after temporarily donning No. 46 in his first game back -- hit the shelves on Tuesday, but it was the top-seller among all players after the league was flooded with inquiries both at the NBA Store Manhattan location and online. Collins is wearing the No. 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a student at the University of Wyoming who in 1998 was the victim of an antigay hate crime in which he was murdered after being tortured and beaten.
Collins was recently signed to a 10-day contract with the Nets, and he notched two rebounds and a steal in 11 minutes of action during his debut, a 108-102 Brooklyn win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Three $250 authentic Collins jerseys were snagged immediately after going on sale at the Manhattan store at around 5 p.m. ET, per Mazzeo.
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