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Go figure, but LeBron James’ move to Los Angeles and the Lakers has been a boon to his merchandise sales, especially on eBay. As StubHub so accurately points out in their second annual 2018 NBA season preview, the LeBron Effect is most definitely real.
With the 73rd season of the National Basketball Association tipping off on October 16th, StubHub went to work analyzing sales data to determine the top-trending teams, hottest-selling games and most popular NBA merchandise on eBay heading into the season.
Some highlights…
• The Los Angeles Lakers are StubHub’s most in-demand team for the second year in a row.
• Since signing LeBron James, demand for the Lakers has increased by 427% over last season.
• LeBron James’ Lakers jersey is the top-selling NBA jersey on eBay this offseason.
• The Lakers’ home opener – LeBron’s Los Angeles debut – is the most in-demand game of the season.
• The Christmas Day game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors is also among StubHub’s top-selling matchups of the season.
• The Western Conference (with LeBron) now outsells Eastern Conference (minus LeBron) on StubHub, for the first time in five years.
“The overwhelming demand for Lakers tickets is a testament to the value of star power on a team, with fans excited to see LeBron in his new home,” said Scott Jablonski, StubHub’s general manager of NHL, NFL & NBA. “It’s not often that we see this large of a spike in demand for a team that already led sales the season before. There are only a handful of athletes in the world who can make an impact on ticket demand like LeBron can.”
Seven out of the top 10 games on StubHub feature the Lakers. For four of those games, the Lakers are the visiting team.
StubHub also worked with eBay data analysts to identify how the LeBron Effect has played into jersey sales and sneakers and his Lakers uni is the top-selling NBA jersey on eBay this offseason. More than 12,000 have been sold since LeBron signed with Los Angeles on July 2, or nearly 200 per day.
James is also dominating the sneaker game. Sales of his LeBron 15 signature shoe on eBay doubled that of Kyrie Irving’s Kyrie 4. His new Western Conference rival Steph Curry came in at number four on the best-selling rankings.
“At eBay, we most recently saw teams in the East drive the most sales for all NBA merchandise from June through August 2018,” said Sam Bright, eBay vice president of Soft Goods, North America. “LeBron’s move to Los Angeles certainly ignites iconic rivalries and we look forward to seeing which coast moves the needle across fan sales at tip-off.”
Demand for Golden State Warriors tickets on StubHub has increased by 70% since last season, maintaining a consistent draw no matter how many times they make it to the NBA Finals.
Meanwhile, demand for Blazers tickets increased by 270% over last season thanks to an early season home matchup against the Lakers.
The Toronto Raptors continue to make moves up the top 10 list, landing at number six this year, up one spot from last year with a 152% increase in ticket demand.
Combined sales for the top Western Conference teams (Lakers, Warriors, Trail Blazers, Clippers) nearly double the number of sales from the six Eastern Conference teams (Knicks, Celtics, Nets, 76ers, Raptors, Heat) in the top 10.
So, yes, the LeBron Effect is very, very real.