According to the map published by Lids, more jerseys of former Houston Rockets star Yao Ming have been sold this season in Montana than any other NBA player, past or present.
Ming, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, has not played in the NBA since 2010.
ABC13 reached out to the public relations firm which handles media relations for Lids, seeking further information on the data. A senior account director said they would be more than happy to look into our inquiry and aimed to provide us with an update. However, in a follow-up correspondence, the official working on behalf of Lids said it would not "have any further insights they can share on this at this time."
When asked, the senior account director confirmed, "All of this data is from Lids in-store sales only."
There's only one Lids store in the state of Montana, and it's located inside Rimrock Mall in Billings. ABC13 spoke with both a current employee and a former employee of the Lids location in Billings to better understand how many Ming jerseys are sold at the store.
The answer is none. The store does not even sell jerseys.
So why would Lids publish a map stating Ming has the best-selling NBA jersey in Montana based on in-store sales if the lone store in Montana doesn't sell jerseys?
Once these inaccurate numbers were uncovered, multiple calls and emails from ABC13 to the public relations firm representing lids and its content went unanswered.
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