Brooklyn Nets: Merchandise Sales Have Fallen Off in Recent Seasons

When it comes to merchandise sales, the Nets sat comfortably in 2022, selling the fourth most out of the 29 other NBA teams. Now, the franchise is seeing much worse results.

Apr 10, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) during the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets have regressed from the team that they were at the start of the 2022 calendar year to now. The primary factors leading to this are front office decisions and popular personnel on the roster.

The NBA releases merchandise sales leaderboards every year, and the Nets sold the fourth most merchandise in the NBA at the start of the 2021-22 season. Today, Brooklyn doesn't even land in the top 10 on that list. In fact, just in front of them are the San Antonio Spurs who sold the ninth most merchandise with a team led by a rookie that just went 22-60, which was the second-worst record in the Western Conference.

If assembling a tier-one roster is too much for the Nets right now, they could look to build a more youthful roster moving forward. The Spurs are the youngest team in the NBA by age with the average player being 23.51 years old. If not, the Nets could try and find the right balance of youth and hunger like the Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma City was the second youngest team in the NBA this season, with the Thunder having an average age of 23 years and 343 days for their players. They went on to clinch the first seed in the Western Conference and lost in Game 6 of the Conference Semifinals.

Having a top-three MVP candidate of none other than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander does help though, as very few expected him to one day develop into a top-three MVP candidate one day. Gilgeous-Alexander really started to emerge while playing with Chris Paul during the 2020 playoffs in the Bubble, when he was only 22 years old. That's the same age as the Nets' Cam Thomas right now, who could have a chance to develop into the face of the franchise.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Nets on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Nets news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.