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Wilt Chamberlain rookie home uniform sells for $1.79 million at auction

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated19 Jun 2023

Wilt Chamberlain rookie home uniform sells for $1.79 million at auction

A Wilt Chamberlain rookie home uniform sold for $1.792 million at SCP Auctions this past Saturday. The minimum bid was set at $200,000, according to the SCP Auctions website. It is the most expensive game-worn vintage (pre-1980) NBA item ever sold.

A total of 16 bids were placed before the auction closed. “The matching jersey and shorts set was originally procured director from Wilt Chamberlain decades ago by his close friend who would become a trusted collector in the hobby,” an SCP Auctions official told ESPN.

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Although the man was not identified, “a letter of provenance from this gentleman” was included in the auction lot. After playing for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1958-59, Wilt Chamberlain was selected third overall by the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1959 NBA Draft.

During his rookie NBA season, the Big Dipper wore his white jersey and shorts at every Philadelphia home game, along with five playoff games. The Chamberlain uniform was photo-matched and authenticated by the MeiGray Group, Resolution Photomatching (ResMatch), and Sports Investors Authentication (SIA).

Mears Authentication graded the Chamberlain uniform a perfect A10. Blood stains are visible on the front and right torso of the pullover jersey from the Hall of Famer’s playing days.

Wilt Chamberlain rookie home uniform sells for $1.79 million at SCP Auctions, Mears Authentication graded the Philadelphia Warriors uniform a perfect A10

The 7-foot-1 center went on to score 2,707 points in his rookie 1959-60 season, shattering the NBA’s then-regular-season points record set by Bob Pettit (2,101 points in 72 games). More importantly, Wilt Chamberlain broke the record only 56 games into his career.

Furthermore, Chamberlain won MVP and Rookie of the Year in 1959-60 after averaging NBA records of 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game — two records that will likely never be broken. He is the only player to log 30 points and 20 boards per game in a season seven times.

In 1959-69, Whipper averaged 2.3 assists and 46.4 minutes per game in 72 appearances as well. The 13-time All-Star became one of only two players (Wes Unseld is the other) to win both NBA MVP and ROY honors in the same season.

Wilt Chamberlain rookie home uniform sells for $1.79 million at auction
SCP Auctions

Additionally, the two-time NBA champion became a seven-time scoring champ. Not to mention, he won 11 rebounding titles and led the league in assists (702) in 1967-68. To this day, the four-time MVP is the only player in NBA history to score 100 points in a single game.

In 1973, Chamberlain set the NBA’s then-all-time scoring record with 31,419 points before Kareem Abdul-Jabbar surpassed the mark in 1984. Of course, Abdul-Jabbar’s record stood for 39 years until LeBron James broke it this past February.

Wilt Chamberlain was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. He was then named to the NBA’s 35th Anniversary Team in 1980. In 2021, the center was elected to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. Chamberlain still holds 72 NBA records.

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