Giannis Antetokounmpo: MVP ranks fifth in jersey sales since restart
By Dalton Sell
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s popularity continues soaring as his jersey sales since the NBA restart ranked fifth among players in the league’s latest return.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks did not exactly make the splash they intended to in the NBA’s restart, but they got featured highly on the league’s merchandise returns regardless.
Taking into equation jersey sales strictly from July 30th to September 28th, Giannis ranked fifth among the highest selling on the NBA Store. Ahead of the reigning league MVP were LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, and Jayson Tatum. Not bad company to be in at all.
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In the six seeding games he participated in, Antetokounmpo averaged 27.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. Despite both he and the team showing signs of rust after the lengthy hiatus, No. 34 jerseys were in high demand as Giannis and the Bucks geared up for an NBA title run.
Milwaukee went through an abysmal 3-5 stretch to kick things off the seeding games, however, followed by a 5-5 postseason record before their eventual exit in a turn of events that no one could have predicted.
Still, the Greek Freak added some hardware to his trophy collection, taking home this year’s Most Valuable Player award and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Being just the third player in NBA history to take home both awards in the same season, joining Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon, Giannis continued his ascension to stardom, which clearly has fans buying into the hype.
Just weeks ago, one of Antetokounmpo’s rookie trading cards went for a record $1.812 million in an auction, making it the most expensive NBA card ever sold. These merchandise return numbers on top of that just signify Giannis’ evergrowing reputation as one of the premier players in the league today.
Regardless of how turbulent the ‘bubble’ experience was for Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks, the team also cracked the top 10 in merchandise sales, coming in as the eighth highest-selling organization. Years ago, that would have been impossible, but their rise to title contention since Antetokounmpo’s breakout is to thank.
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This is just the beginning for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Despite falling short of championship expectations once again, Giannis is not going to hang his head over it. Via Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports:
"“Some see a wall and go in [another direction]. I plow through it. We just have to get better as a team, individually and get right back at it next season.”“If winning a championship was easy, everyone would have one,” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports. “We lost. Everyone saw that we lost. It’s disappointing, but what are we going to do? We’re going to keep working. I’ve got confidence in my teammates.”"
It is that type of relentless desire to win that has followed Antetokounmpo’s journey from unknown prospect in 2013 to back-to-back league MVP just seven years later. He is an easy guy to root for and undoubtedly a fan favorite worldwide because of it.
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At just 25-years-old, Giannis Antetokounmpo will stay in that upper echelon of jersey sales for a long time, and hopefully, he does it as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.