NBA Merchandise Trends for the Holiday Season

Before you head out to the stores or add to your online shopping carts, you better catch up on the popular trends for NBA merchandise. Players are always changing teams and rising and falling in popularity, so if you aren't following the seemingly 15 month long NBA season from the get-go, consider this your quick primer.

Even before the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship last season, Kobe Bryant had returned to his prominence as the league's highest selling jersey. His game has evolved and he has become a more complete player, not to mention retooling his badly hobbled off the court image. But Lakers fans aren't hard to find, they are one of the more storied franchises in the NBA.

A tougher sell might be Okalahoma City Thunder jerseys & clothing. The relocated franchise has been welcomed with a strong hometown crowd, but so far success has been extremely limited. On the upside, if you get in now at the ground level you can be in for some bright times in the future.

Kevin Durant is a superstar in the making, and like Kevin Garnett before him he needs his body to catch up to his skill set a bit before he fully breaks out. If you support the team now then you can proudly boast in another few years that you were there in the beginning.

The biggest storyline of the 2009-2010 NBA season however is likely the pending free agent class of the summer. Perennial all-stars and top-10 players Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh will be fielding offers and possibly looking to change clubs, or possibly trying to team up with one another.

But the biggest name of them is none other than Lebron James. So far he has shown no signs that he is leaving his hometown Clevland Cavaliers, but he also has ceased the reassuring tone he had a season or two ago when it seemed he was much more inclined to stay. One thing is for sure, money is less important to Lebron than championships - the guy signed his name to a $90 million endorsement deal before he played a professional game, and so Cleveland has a more than solid chance at retaining his services.

Until that changes Cleveland Cavs apparel will definitely be flying off the shelves, particularly for the holidays. Of course, if Lebron bolts, then the franchise can expect some hard times. I wouldn't expect Zydrunas Ilgauskas to sell many jerseys over the next few years.

Of course, NBA fans are loyal regardless of where they are from or who their team is. Although as a Knicks fan at this point I may be more likely to purchase a Patrick Chewing Snickers t-shirt than a new Knicks jersey, NBA merchandise will always be popular with the fans. Consider a few of the above options if you're out of ideas come holiday shopping time.