Sotheby’s will offer a game-worn Los Angeles Lakers jersey from Wilt Chamberlain’s 1969 NBA Finals appearance in an auction scheduled for next week.
Early bidding has already reached $320,000, according to marketplace data from Cllct, and collectors expect the figure to climb well past $1 million before the sale closes.
The garment dates to Chamberlain’s final postseason matchup against longtime rival Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics. Then 32, Chamberlain battled Russell through seven games, a series Boston ultimately won to secure Russell’s 11th championship ring.
Only a handful of Chamberlain jerseys verified through photo matching have surfaced. That scarcity has driven significant results at recent auctions, including:
- a 1972 NBA Finals jersey that set a Chamberlain record at $4.9 million in 2023;
- a 1960 Philadelphia Warriors season-long jersey that sold for nearly $1.8 million in 2023; and
- a late-1950s Warriors jersey linked to an undated photograph that fetched about $490,000 in 2022.
Whether the 1969 Finals uniform approaches the record set by the 1972 example remains uncertain, but auction watchers anticipate aggressive bidding given its historical significance and limited availability.
Source: Hoops Wire
