Zion Williamson is already the most popular NBA draftee of all time, at least if you go by merchandise sales.
According to Fanatics, via Lisa Fickenscher and Nicolas Vega of the New York Post, Williamson shattered the record by selling more New Orleans Pelicans jerseys and shirts than any draftees in history. In fact, in the five days after the draft, people purchased more Williamson shirts and jerseys than they did for the entire first-round draft class of the 2018 NBA Draft combined.
No. 3 pick RJ Barrett also broke the previous record after being drafted by the New York Knicks, but was outpaced by his former Duke teammate.
It’s pretty clear already that Williamson is being anointed the new king of New Orleans sports. Considering the level of hype that surrounded him all year and followed him into the NBA, this isn’t a huge shocker, but it’s still an indication of the stature Williamson enters the league with already.
