Raptors achieve best-ever ranking in league-wide merchandise sales

Toronto Raptors fans watch the Toronto Raptors vs San Antonio Spurs NBA regular season game in jerseys of ex-players of Toronto Raprots Kawhi Leonard (L) and DeMar DeRozan (R) at Scotiabank Arena on January 12, 2020 in Toronto, Canada (San Antonio Spurs won 105-104) (Photo by Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Toronto Raptors fans watch the Toronto Raptors vs San Antonio Spurs NBA regular season game in jerseys of ex-players of Toronto Raprots Kawhi Leonard (L) and DeMar DeRozan (R) at Scotiabank Arena on January 12, 2020 in Toronto, Canada (San Antonio Spurs won 105-104) (Photo by Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

A lot of things come along with winning an NBA championship. A Christmas Day game, national broadcasts, and selling lots and lots of merchandise.

According to a press release from the NBA, the reigning champion Toronto Raptors hit new highs to start the 2019-20 season, climbing into the top five of NBAStore.com sales as a team for the first time in franchise history.

Here is the list, based on sales between October 2019 and December 2019.

  1. Los Angeles Lakers

  2. Boston Celtics

  3. Philadelphia 76ers

  4. Toronto Raptors

  5. Milwaukee Bucks

Buying “2019 NBA Champions” merch for Christmas probably plays a role here, but the numbers don’t lie: the Raptors were one of the most popular teams in the league at the NBA Store. Television ratings and attendance of the parade corroborate the story that the team is more popular than ever, culminating a decade of growth with the perfect championship cherry on the sundae.

The league also released the most popular individual player jerseys during the same time frame, and while no current Raptors made the cut there, former star and Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard clocked in at seventh with his new Los Angeles Clippers jersey.

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