The NBA’s Newest Villain Had The Best-Selling Jersey Across The Country In July

Kevin Durant’s defection from the Oklahoma City Thunder created basketball’s newest super team, a squad that’s poised to face more attention, scrutiny, and outright hate than any the league has seen since the 2010-11 Miami Heat. Winning will cure those ills for the Golden State Warriors, of course, and the two-time defending Western Conference champions are poised to do plenty of it. Adding one of the several best players on earth to the core of a 73-win team is a recipe ripe for unprecedented success.

Once the Warriors begin to achieve it, the sting of Durant’s decision felt by many league followers will surely be forgotten – especially considering it might not be as bad as first anticipated.

That Golden State’s newest superstar led the NBA in jersey sales for July isn’t too surprising. He’s one of the league’s most popular players, after all, and the Warriors have developed a national following over the past three years.

But that Durant’s blue and gold jersey was the highest seller in Oklahoma? And that it flew off the shelves faster than LeBron James’ did following his return to Northeast Ohio two years ago?

Durant’s popularity has undoubtedly taken a hit. That comes with the territory of leaving a small-market team for one in a glamour part of the country that seems destined to become the league’s newest dynasty.

Any delusions that Durant would become a true villain, however, were always just that – as the sky-high sales numbers of his new jersey indicate.