NFL Players Quietly Dropped Push for Media Locker Room Ban
Before Game 4 of the Warriors-Rockets first-round playoff series in April, Dillon Brooks strutted through the Chase Center tunnel wearing sunglasses, dark pinstripe pants, and a fuzzy peach doll dangling from his hip. The 6-foot-6 forward (now on the Suns), known for his aggressive, physical play, was roasted by Inside the NBA analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal as the camera zoomed in on the accessory.
Is he “wearing a damn bunny on his hip?” Barkley said as Shaq laughed uncontrollably.
The “bunny” was a Labubu, a creepy-cute doll with pointy ears and a mischievous smile, which became a massive hit in Asia before U.S. consumers began adopting them in the past year. TikTok has thousands of videos of users excitedly unboxing the 14-inch dolls (some are bigger), which can be worn like keychains attached to a bag or belt loop.
In 2019, Pop Mart—the Chinese company that makes the Labubus—partnered with artist Kasing Lung, who illustrated a picture book series called The Monsters, on which the dolls are based. Since then it has released several collections of Labubus, each with its own series of dolls with names like “Exciting Macaron,” “Fall in Wild,” and “Big into Energy.”
A-listers including Lisa, Dua Lipa, and Rihanna have all been spotted sporting Labubus. In May actress Emma Roberts posted an unboxing video on Instagram after waiting in line at a Pop Mart store in Milan to reveal her “Have a Seat” line. And last month rapper Megan Thee Stallion posted a now-deleted TikTok unwrapping boxes of Labubus gifted by boyfriend and Mavericks star Klay Thompson.
They are the latest craze in a long line of collectibles including Cabbage Patch Kids, Pokémon, Troll dolls, and Beanie Babies—and a celebrity fashion statement that has begun to infiltrate pro sports.
Pop Mart eventually responded to the NBA on TNT clip on X by thanking Brooks for the “love to our Labubu!” In fact, while Barkley and O’Neal were laughing, the accessory endeared Brooks to new fans who know nothing about basketball.
In the past few months, an increasing number of big names from an array of sports have added to the global sensation. “I think athletes are just following the trendlines with this one,” says Mike Sykes, who authors the “Kicks You Wear” blog. “Collectible artwork has entered into the same hyped space sneakers were in a few years ago.”
New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart wore a Labubu for her game-day arrival before the Liberty hosted the Fever on July 22.
“Labubus bring the perfect kind of mischief to my fits—shout-out to Pop Mart for keeping my collection growing and my bags never boring,” Stewart said in a statement to Front Office Sports. The Liberty recently posted a video on social media of Stewart talking to a young fan about their Labubus.
Stewart reportedly got the whole team Labubus decked out in Liberty uniforms—but they are not an official collaboration with Pop Mart. “Like many Pop Mart collectors, Breanna and her team customized their Labubus as a personal expression of their style, friendship, and passions,” a Pop Mart spokesperson tells FOS.
Stewart has plenty of company in her love for Labubu. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles posted a photo of two Labubus she bought while in Hong Kong in May, asking her followers, “creepy or cute?” The picture showed two dolls wearing matching black and brown Gucci outfits and bucket hats. Tom Brady posted a picture on Instagram of him and his daughter holding a Labubu outside a store in Japan.
At Wimbledon, Chinese tennis player Qinwen Zheng and Carlos Alcaraz exchanged a Labubu doll. (One user commented, “We love Carlos AND LABUBU.”)
The dolls sprung up all over soccer this summer. English player Jesse Lingard posted a picture of himself in June with two Labubus attached to a bag. French soccer player Paul Pogba declared himself part of the “Labubu gang.” During the FIFA Club World Cup, Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram and Argentine player Rodrigo De Paul (whose customized Labubu wore his No. 7 jersey) joined the list.
England’s Dele Alli wore two dolls to the Louis Vuitton spring-summer 2026 show in Paris, and in describing his outfit to Esquire UK said “the main things are the Labubus.”
In just the last year, the mega popularity of Labubus has fueled a 540% surge in shares of Pop Mart. The toys generated $425 million in revenue in 2024—a 726% increase from the previous year, the company said in its latest annual report.
Global celebrity endorsements have clearly boosted Pop Mart’s sales: The Monsters line became its No. 1 IP in sales in 2024. Before Labubu, its largest IP was the Molly line of figurines, whose sales doubled in 2024, HSBC analyst Lina Yan tells FOS. Yan expects Pop Mart sales to more than double this year and for net profit to nearly triple.
As the clamor for Labubus crosses continents, Pop Mart’s sales outside China have exploded and should exceed 50% of total sales this year, Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang tells FOS. “Overseas, especially the U.S., used to be a minimal contributor to the firm’s topline, but the frenzy since 2024 has materially lifted its mix,” he adds.
Since October, Pop Mart has been the No. 1 best-selling collectibles brand on StockX, better known as a sneaker resale site. In April, Pop Mart released The Monsters “Big into Energy” Series. The most popular product from the collection—the Vinyl Plush Pendant Sealed Case (which comes with six items)—set a new record for release-day sales, making it the No. 1 collectibles release in StockX history, with 4,365 sales on April 24, according to StockX.
Labubus are mostly out of stock on Pop Mart’s website and Amazon. (Pop Mart has 43 brick-and-mortar locations in the U.S., including in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Seattle.) Shoppers must sign up for a lottery to buy one through Pop Mart. And with the whiff of scarcity comes imitation Labubus. To fight against the rise of fakes, Pop Mart put a QR code on the doll’s tag that their owners can scan to check its authenticity, says Alex Fung, pop culture consignment director at Goldin Auctions.
What’s behind their viral popularity? Put simply, they’re affordable and fun, Fung tells FOS. One plushie key chain costs about $28 and comes in a “blind box”—which means the specific color and identity of the figures are a mystery until the box is opened, which is part of the appeal, much like buying a pack of baseball cards. Says Fung: “They’re cute, they come in different colors, everyone loves it.”
