New Orleans Pelicans: 10 Most Valuable NBA Players
#8: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid is another great player who gets dinged because of his overall value to his team as well as to the league as a whole.
Jersey Sales: Embiid is 9th overall in jersey sales, but comes from one of the biggest basketball markets, so that makes sense.
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Importance to team: If you asked Philly fans if Embiid was the most valuable player on the team, half would say no. He was in trade rumors all year and many were saying Ben Simmons was the untradeable one, not Embiid. He’s never played more than 64 games in a season.
Importance to the future of the league: Embiid is one of the more disliked players around the league depending on who you ask. He does have a strong social media presence and is great trolling on Twitter. Embiid is also a legend in his home country of Cameroon, has a good sense of humor and doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s not the most popular player and will never be the face of the league, but Embiid is the king of Philly and Cameroon.
#7: Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum is one of the best under-25 players in the NBA, but probably isn’t even the most known or popular player on his own team. Tatum has a brilliant but understated game that doesn’t necessarily ignite the imagination, but the man moves merch.
Jersey Sales: Believe it or not, Tatum is 4th overall in jersey sales. This shows how much reach the Celtics have outside of Boston. Like the Lakers, the Celtics are a “public” team who is always near the top of the league in team merchandise sales.
Importance to team: The Celtics have a lot of young talent but Tatum is undoubtedly the face of the team and many fans think he is off-limits in any trade talks. Tatum has proven himself on the biggest stage and that he can be the best player on a a title team. He is 22-years-old. Every team in the league wishes they had a guy like this.
Importance to the future of the league: So Tatum is great, moves merch and is important to his team, but he’ll never be the face of the league and has little appeal overseas. Tatum is a bit like Kawhi in that he is great but understated, not the kind of guy who is going to be the center of attention.