Amar'e, Melo in top 10 in jersey sales
Amar'e Stoudemire will miss the next two games as he mourns the death of his brother, and Carmelo Anthony will be out at least that long with a groin strain. (undated file photo) Credit: Jim McIsaac
BOSTON -- If wins were determined by jersey sales, the Knicks would be among the league's elite. The NBA released rankings of the top-selling jerseys based on data from the NBA Store and NBA.com and revealed that Amar'e Stoudemire (fourth) and Carmelo Anthony (eighth) were among the top 10.
Stoudemire certainly benefited from being the pioneer of the Knicks' revival. His arrival as the first star in Donnie Walsh's rebuild led to fans immediately buying his jersey this season. It was the first time in his career that Stoudemire cracked the top 10 in jersey sales.
It doesn't mean much for him financially. The players don't get any extra money for having a top-selling jersey. The league and the players union have a licensing agreement that pays each player a flat rate of $25,000 a season, regardless of status.
What's amazing about Anthony's ranking is that it represents only sales of his No. 7 Knicks jersey, which was only available after the Feb. 22 trade. Also notable is that the NBA Store, which was based in Manhattan, closed on Feb. 13, so Anthony's sales numbers were taken only through the website.
LeBron James ranked No. 1 in jersey sales, overtaking the annual leader, Kobe Bryant, who is now second. Rajon Rondo is third.
Knicks fix
Landry Fields played all 82 games this season and made 81 starts. That represents the most games played and started by a Knicks rookie since Bill Cartwright started all 82 games in 1979-80.
