The NBA announced that Washington Wizards rookie Rui Hachimura, the Japanese-born ninth overall pick in last year’s draft, topped the list of best-selling jerseys in Japan.
Hachimura has become a phenomenon in his home country, which had not previously had a basketball star to call its own. Twenty-four percent of all NBA jersey sales in Japan were Hachimura jerseys, according to a press release from NBA Asia.
Coming in behind Hachimura were LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving and James Harden in second through fifth place.
The Wizards have expanded marketing efforts in Japan this year, and it’s starting to pay off.