A historic game-worn jersey of the late great Wilt Chamberlain is reportedly up for grabs.
Prominent auction house Sotheby expects that Chamberlain’s Los Angeles Lakers gear back in the 1972 NBA Finals will fetch a record-high $4MM-plus in its online bidding event from Aug. 28 to Sept. 27.
Chamberlain donned the said jersey during his charge for the Lakers on their title-clinching Game 5 win against the New York Knicks. The eventual Finals MVP dusted off his broken hand injury to drop 24 points and 29 boards to officially hand the city of Los Angeles its first-ever NBA championship since the franchise relocated from Minneapolis.
Sotheby considers the jersey as the most lucrative marketed memorabilia of Chamberlain up to date. It is aiming to surpass the 1959-60 game-worn Philadelphia 76ers rookie jersey of Chamberlain that cemented a record of $1.79MM last June this year.
“This jersey holds an extraordinarily significant place in the history of Los Angeles, not only adorned by the man many consider to be the greatest player ever to step on the court, but as a relic from one of the greatest franchises in sports history,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles (h/t Associated Press).
The iconic jersey will be sold alongside several evidence materials such as magazines, newspapers, photographs, and trading cards. It will be displayed for public viewing at the Sotheby’s Los Angeles gallery from Aug. 2 to Aug. 31.
Besides carving a championship finish, Chamberlain and the 1971-72 Lakers registered an NBA record 33-game winning streak. They went on to post a 69-win regular season, a record that stood for 24 years until the Michael Jordan-led 1995–96 Chicago Bulls went 72–10.
Chamberlain, one of the celebrated basketball all-time greats and a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, passed away in 1999 at age 63 due to congestive heart failure.
