NBA officials announced today the sales of jerseys in the first three months of the 2017-18 season. Stephen Curry and LeBron James still ranked in the top two, and even rookie Ben Simmons ranked eighth. However, the popular MVP candidate, Rockets star James Harden, only ranked tenth. What is the reason why Harden's jersey sales are so low? The editor of q6u.com will give you a detailed analysis

Harden's jersey sales only rank tenth

NBA officials released a set of pictures on Instagram today to show the jersey sales list so far this season.

The specific ranking of the sales list: 1. Stephen Curry 2. LeBron James 3. Kevin Durant 4. Giannis Antetokounmpo 5. Kristaps Porzingis 6. Joel Embiid 7. Russell Westbrook 8. Ben Simmons 9. Kawhi Leonard 10. James Harden.

Why is Harden always unpopular

This season, Harden performed extremely well, averaging a league-high 32.3 points per game, while also contributing 5 rebounds and 9.1 assists. Before his injury, he led the Rockets to a record of 26 wins and 9 losses. Based on his personal data and leadership ability, it is not an exaggeration to say that he is the best player in the league. However, his jersey sales are not only inferior to Ku, James, Du, and Wei, but they are even inferior to rookies like Simmons and injured players like Leonard who have only played 9 games so far, which is really unfair.

This is not the first time Harden has received a cold reception from fans: in the previous All-Star fan voting process, despite the support of Chinese fans, Harden still lagged behind Curry in the number of votes, and finally ranked second among Western Conference defenders, and only ranked fifth among all players in the league, which did not match his MVP-level performance on the field.

There is an interpretation that Harden's playing is ugly and pragmatism outweighs appreciation. But this season, this situation has greatly changed. In fact, Harden is proficient in all technical aspects of movement, passing, and shooting. His rhythm is excellent and quick to start. His signature European step breakthrough is unique in the world. After transforming and increasing his organization in the past two years, he has become one of the most comprehensive offensive players in the league. No matter what, such a player will not be ugly when playing.

Most of the fans who disagree with Harden's style of play focus on his love of cheating for fouls. However, this season the league has made adjustments to the rules in response to this. As long as the offended player does not make an obvious shooting action at the moment of physical contact, it will now only be called a common foul, and no free throws will be given unless the number of times has been reached.

But despite this, Harden still relied on polishing his own skills to elevate the game to a new level. So far this season, he has averaged 32.3 points per game, 4.1 three-pointers and 39% long-range shooting, all career records. If you often watch Rockets games, you will have a strong feeling: Today's Harden's personal offensive ability has become extremely proficient. He can stop and step back for three-pointers with one hand, which is simply amazing! So to say that Harden plays ugly is really unconvincing.

Harden is not popular with fans, largely because his public image is not as good as that of other superstars such as Curry and James. When he debuted as a kid from Oklahoma City, he was just a sixth man in the team at first. In the 2012 Finals with the Heat, he was even revealed to have lost his form due to going too crazy in nightclubs, which indirectly led to the Thunder's defeat. Later, his contract expired and he left the team because he was dissatisfied with the team's offer and tactical status. Although he became the head of the Rockets as he wished, negative news continued.

First of all, it was the indiscretions in his private life off the court. As Harden entered the ranks of first-line stars, he began to be continuously reported by the gossip media on a larger scale. Later, his bloody affair with Khloe Kardashian directly caused his performance on the court to plummet.

In the most sluggish season of 2015-16, Harden's All-Star votes shrank from 1.07 million votes the previous year to less than 440,000 votes. At that time, he left fans with the impression of "nightclub prince", "defensive eyes", and even "the cancer of the team". He and Dwight Howard were once the "super duo" who had unlimited expectations, but ultimately ended in tragedy.

Although Harden has regained his concentration on the court after breaking up with Kardashian, the gossip media has also become less enthusiastic about his innocuous nightlife. But compared to "good men", "good boys" and "workaholics" such as James, Curry and Wei Shao, it is still difficult for him to gain the favor of the public. Even sports manufacturers look for him to endorse, and they promote his leading role in trends, which shows how good his personal image is.

So, the poor sales of Harden's jerseys really have little to do with his performance on the court.

Market factors have too much influence

In addition to the "personal reasons" mentioned above, the poor sales of Harden's jerseys are also directly related to his team. The Rockets, because of Yao Ming, are as popular as, or even more popular than, the Lakers, Warriors, Cavaliers and other popular teams in China, but in the United States, it's a different story.

Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States, but even when the Rockets won the NBA championship for two consecutive years in the 1990s, and even when Yao and Mai were at their peak at the beginning of this century and with the addition of the Chinese market, their superstars had never topped the jersey sales list.

Isn't it because Olajuwon doesn't look good when he plays? Is it because Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are not popular? Obviously not. In fact, McGrady can be said to be at the top level of the league in terms of popularity and enjoyment of playing, but his best performance was only in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, when he ranked third on the jersey sales list. Compared with Kobe, James, and Garnett, it is still quite inferior.

The main reason is the overall restrained style of Houston fans. In comparison, places like New York, Los Angeles, even Philadelphia and Atlanta have more fanatical fans and a stronger basketball atmosphere. The inherent disadvantage cannot be made up for by Harden personally.

In addition to the city of Houston, the Rockets themselves are also involved in Harden's poor sales of jerseys. It’s not that the Rockets’ poor record and failure to win a championship has affected Harden’s popularity, because among the top ten players in jersey sales, currently only James, Ku, Du, and Kawhi have championship rings. Others, such as Antetokounmpo, Porzingis, and the twin stars from Philadelphia, have not yet had any outstanding team leadership results, and they are far inferior to Harden in this regard.

The Rockets' problem lies in their jersey design. There is a saying that the Rockets' jersey color scheme, including its design, is not pleasing to the eye, thus affecting sales.

I think back when Yao Ming first entered the league, he still wore the same navy blue uniform with vertical stripes with a complicated "Logo" printed on the chest. Needless to say, how ugly that jersey was. Later, the Rockets changed their home court and slogan, wanting to "create a big scene." The jerseys were also changed to red and white, with circular stripes on the shoulders and armpits. Although this jersey is more pleasing to the eye than the previous version, it can only be regarded as quite satisfactory.

Following on, there were only some minor adjustments to the Rockets jersey design. The red and white colors, plus weird stripes, are still the main elements.

Last summer, Nike officially became the main sponsor of the NBA and made some varying degrees of modifications to the design of the game uniforms. At that time, "Sports Illustrated" published an article specifically ranking the jersey designs of all 30 teams, and the Rockets only ranked 22nd.

"Sports Illustrated" commented on the new Rockets jersey: "For a team with a cool team name, the Rockets' jersey design has been holding back. There is no element in this jersey that can remind you of the Rockets or space. Why do you always use red and white colors? A subversive change may be needed in the future."

Although it is the opinion of one family, it is still very representative, which is enough to illustrate the problem.

According to statistics released by Forbes magazine in 2017, the Rockets' jersey sales did not rank among the top 15 among all 30 teams in the league. Among them, unsightliness is an important reason.

The ball market and design are all important factors that affect jersey sales. Personality and public image also directly affect a player's popularity. However, when it comes to basketball, strength still matters. In fact, with Harden's outstanding performance in the past two seasons and the Rockets' continuous improvement in record, although his jersey sales are not ideal, they have improved significantly compared to the past.

For comparison, in January last year, the league also announced the jersey sales rankings for the first three months of the 2016-17 season. At that time, Harden could only rank 12th. Going back further, throughout the 2015-16 season, Harden's jersey sales did not even rank among the top 15 in the league!

So, as Harden's performance on the court continues to improve in the past two years, his jersey sales have shown a clear upward trend. In the list released today, he has ranked among the top ten. In China, the sales of the No. 13 Rockets jersey worn by Harden surpassed superstars such as Durant and Wei Shao, ranking third! The only two superstars ahead of him are James and Curry.

In the past two weeks, Harden has missed seven consecutive games due to a hamstring strain. During this period, the Rockets only achieved 4 wins and 3 losses. Especially yesterday's embarrassing loss to the short-handed Clippers made people realize how indispensable Deng is to this team.

According to current news, Harden is expected to return against the Timberwolves on Friday or against the Warriors on Sunday. If he can completely get rid of the injury, continue his outstanding performance in the first half of the season, and lead the Rockets to victory, he still has a great chance of winning the regular season MVP trophy this season.

At that time, let's look at the sales of Brother Deng's jersey

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