James, who was previously ranked fourth on the best-selling list, takes the top spot from injured Chicago Bull Derrick Rose, who falls to number five. The Oklahoma Thunder's Kevin Durant, coming off his first NBA finals debut in June, jumps from the eighth spot to No. 2. Rounding out the top five is Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant, who has had the top-selling jersey six times and the New York Knicks Carmelo Anthony.
Making his first appearance on the list is the Thunder's Russell Westbrook, who debuts at number twelve. Players trending upward include the Celtics' Rajon Rondo and the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul, who each move up four spots from last year to Nos. 6 and 10, respectively.
In team merchandise, The New York Knicks claimed the top spot for the first time since December 2004. Falling from first to fourth is the Chicago Bulls. The 2012 NBA Champion Miami Heat came in at No. 2, with the Lakers at No. 3 and the Boston Celtics at No. 5.
The Lakers are the only team with three players on the list with Bryant (No. 3) and his two new teammates Dwight Howard (No. 9) and Steve Nash (No. 13).
The Brooklyn Nets, whose jerseys were first made available at the end of September, finished seventh. The only Nets player to make the list was Deron Williams, who finished at eleven.
Overall, the NBA is off to a good start in merchandise sales this season, with the NBAStore.com having its largest Cyber Monday in history on Nov. 26 with sales up double-digits over 2011.
Top 15 Most Popular NBA Jerseys
- LeBron James, Miami Heat
- Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
- Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
- Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
- Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
- Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
- Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
- Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers
- Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
- Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets
- Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Steve Nash, Los Angeles Lakers
- Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
- Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
Top Ten Most Popular Team Merchandise
- New York Knicks
- Miami Heat
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Chicago Bulls
- Boston Celtics
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Brooklyn Nets
- Los Angeles Clippers
- San Antonio Spurs
- Dallas Mavericks
-By Tom Rotunno, CNBC Senior Editor; Follow him @tomrotunno.
Questions? Comments? Email us at consumernation@cnbc.com.