LeBron Again Has NBA's No. 1 Selling Jersey
TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer
CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James switched back from No. 6 to No. 23 this season.
No matter, he's still No. 1.
James' Cavaliers jersey was the NBA's top seller for the 2014-15 season, the league announced Tuesday. James returned to the Cavaliers this season after four years with the Miami Heat, leading them to two championships.
James wore No. 6 during his time in South Florida but went back to the number he wore in high school and during his first seven seasons with Cleveland after returning home to Ohio this summer.
It's the sixth consecutive year James has topped the list, his third time with the Cavs and ninth time in his 12-year career.
The league does not provide exact figures on the number of jerseys sold, but said the rankings are based on overall retail sales on NBAStore.com since the start of the season. Golden State guard Stephen Curry was second followed by Los Angeles Lakers' star Kobe Bryant, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Chicago's Derrick Rose. Cleveland's Kyrie Irving was sixth.
The Chicago Bulls reclaimed the top spot for best-selling team merchandise for the first time since the 2012 season. The Cavaliers were second, ahead of the Warriors, Lakers and Thunder.
James has taken the Cavs back to the playoffs for the first time since 2010. His return season didn't start off well as Cleveland dropped to 19-20 in mid-January after the four-time league MVP sat out two weeks to rest a nagging back and knee injury. But since he came back, the Cavs have gone 33-9, recently clinched the Central Division title and enter this weekend's playoffs with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
On Monday night, James recorded his 39th career triple-double in a win over Detroit. James hasn't decided if he will play in Wednesday's home finale against Washington.
The Cavs will likely open the playoffs against the Boston Celtics, a team they've played twice in the past week.
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