Ideally from a fan point of view and from a business point of view - you would like every player that you own a jersey of to stay on the same team forever. That is because the jersey you have will always be ‘current’ even if the player retires. Read on for some information on this topic.
But don’t always look at it that way because certain jerseys can then become very rare and hard to get. Although the most popular jerseys ever are red Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan jerseys, his switch to the Washington Wizards made those jerseys extremely popular too. Especially the Nike throwback jersey of the Washington Bullets (the white jersey with the blue and red horizontal chest stripes). This was an extremely popular jersey and still is a favorite of many fans. But I guess every jersey Jordan puts on becomes popular and stays popular.

Thats not the case with all players though. Some players having their original jerseys as being more popular (Jason Williams - Sacramento Kings), but then some have newer jerseys as the most popular from their careers (Gilbert Arenas - Washington Wizards). Some players switch teams so many times its hard to keep track of how many jerseys they have had (Chauncey Billups). So what is it - is it the team, the player or current fan taste that influences the popularity of each jersey of the same player but from different teams?

Take Baron Davis for example. His original rookie jersey from the New Orleans Hornets was mildly popular but his Golden State Warriors jersey was one of the hottest sellers for a few years. Now his Clippers one isn’t that popular.

Rasheed Wallace is another. His Washington Bullets rookie jersey is very popular, but his Portland Trailblazers is his most popular jersey, even more than his Detroit jersey. Many fans ask for his one-game Atlanta Hawks jersey - now thats a rare jersey!

Other players had very popular jerseys from their first team but once their careers started winding down, their successive jerseys were never as popular. Players such as Dominique Wilkins. His Atlanta Hawks jersey remains a very popular jersey but his stints in Boston, LA Clippers, San Antonio and finishing his career off in Orlando brought no popularity at all. Same with ex-NY Knicks players Ewing (Seattle, Orlando), Oakley (Toronto), Starks (Golden State, Chicago and Utah), Mason (Charlotte and Miami). Their Knicks jerseys were great… the following ones - not really. Hakeem Olajuwon going to the Raptors?? Wow! Even the great Scottie Pippen saw popularity in his jerseys go down every team he went to from the Bulls to the Portland Blazers and then to the Houston Rockets.

So as you can see with many players, if they go chasing a Championship ring in their last year(s) of their careers, and they don’t win one - their jersey popularity starts to fall from that team - fans/people just want to remember the great times.

It also depends on where a young player reached stardom. Not many people realize that Billups has played for the Denver Nuggets many years ago, also with stops in Boston, Toronto, Orlando and Minnesota, amongst others. His Detroit Pistons and now Denver Nuggets jerseys are easily the most popular as those are the places where he brought success.

Apart from Jordan, two players I have noticed to have extreme jersey popularity wherever they play are Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons) and Shaquille O’Neal (Orlando magic, LA Lakers, Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns). These players have maintained jersey popularity wherever they go.

So what does it come down to? - fan popularity, team success, player success, player personality, style of jersey, etc - many things and more.

So if you have a jersey of a player who just got traded or signed a new contract with another team - don’t throw it out but keep that jersey as it might be the best one that player ever plays in.

I know I’ve still got my Rod Strickland authentic Portland Trailblazers jersey and that’s how I’ll remember him…