When Ben Simmons plays his first NBA game in late October, there are going to be a lot of people in the stands wearing his jersey. According to Fanatics.com, the biggest online sports apparel retailer, Simmons’ Philadelphia 76ers jersey is already their No. 10-selling NBA jersey, before he’s played a game.
Via Philly.com:Since draft night, Fanatics.com is reporting that in terms of merchandise sales, Simmons is the 10th-best seller among National Basketball Association players. He’s the highest-selling Philadelphia athlete in all sports across the Fanatics platform of hundreds of e-commerce sites, which includes SixersShop.com - the Sixers’ official team store.
Demand for Simmons merchandise helped SixersShop.com see a 76 percent spike in sales compared with July 2015, according to Fanatics.com.Simmons’ popularity in his native Australia surely plays a part in his surging jersey sales, as well as the fact that there’s finally some real buzz about the Sixers after three embarrassing seasons, with Simmons’ arrival and Joel Embiid and Dario Saric expected to play as well.