Carmelo Anthony Overtakes LeBron James in NBA Jersey Sales

It’s fitting that shortly after Carmelo Anthony passed Kevin Durant as the NBA’s leading scorer, the New York Knicks star overtook LeBron James in jersey sales.

According to Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk, the league recently announced the top-selling jerseys across the nation based on sales online at NBAStore.com and in person at the NBA Store in Manhattan from Nov. 2012 until the present.

Here’s a look at the top-15 selling jerseys for this season:

1. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
2. LeBron James, Miami Heat
3. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
5. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
6. Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets
7. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
8. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
9. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
10. Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
11. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
12. Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers
13. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
14. Amar’e Stoudemire, New York Knicks
15. Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics

With Anthony topping the list, reigning MVP and Finals champion James was pushed down to second place. Durant came in third, with Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose rounding out the top five.  

This was a huge leap forward for the Knicks forward, as he was ranked No. 4 in last year’s sales. In addition to playing one of the league's largest markets, the recent success of the team likely played a role in Melo's ascent. 

Anthony is averaging 28.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists, all while guiding a banged-up, aging New York squad to a 50-26 record that would be good for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference if the season ended today.

The six-time All-Star has been playing incredible of late, averaging 41.8 points per game while shooting 60.9 percent from the field and 56.0 percent from three-point range in the month of April.

Melo has his team rolling at the right time and could be a serious threat to dethrone James and the Heat in the postseason.