The Sixers are blazing hot right now -- and not just on the court.
The team has not one, but two, best-selling jerseys at the online NBA store. Game attendance is growing faster than any team in the league.
So are the Sixers local ratings, social media engagement and team merchandise sales.
“We have seen it blow up through the entire season. We have two players in the top 10 for jerseys in the NBA, and rankings came out that have us as the number three jersey-selling team overall,” said Katie O’Reilly, chief marketing officer for the 76ers. “It’s incredible to see the interest and sales that are going through the roof.”
The best-selling jerseys, not surprisingly, are from rookie guard Ben Simmons and superstar center Joel Embiid. They join perennial best-selling jerseys from Stephen Curry (#1), Lebron James (#2) and Kevin Durant (#3).
The buzz is likely to continue. The Sixers head into playoff season with a number three seed (at least, before Wednesday night's games) and chance to break the record for most games unbeaten going into the playoffs.
The team launched a new marketing campaign with new merchandise and six murals throughout the city. The “Phila Unite” campaign was inspired by the Liberty Bell and the "76" from Philadelphia’s 1976 bicentennial celebration seen on the court this season.
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In partnership with NBC Sports Philadelphia
The snake that wraps around it comes from a cartoon from Benjamin Franklin. That snake is appearing on the team's city edition uniforms, hidden in a flap on the shorts.
Fans from around the world can head to philaunite.com, where they can upload photos, play with filters and share their favorite moments.
“I actually saw that one of the city edition shirts is already sold out. We sent 10,000 decals into the city just to give to fans," O'Reilly said. "We are really trying to engage with our fans and help them be a part of the experience and campaign."
Social media engagement has seen a jump. O'Reilly said the team is in the top three in the NBA for engagement. “Social media and content have been our number-one priority over the past year," she said.
These 76ers are a worldwide phenomenon. They are a top-five trending team on the Chinese social media network Weibo, O'Reilly said.
"All of these social networks globally that we have really been able to put resources behind have allowed us to reach people around the world,” she said.
