NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- The jersey that New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson wore in Game 1 of the NBA Finals sold for a little more than $1 million in a Sotheby’s auction.
The sports memorabilia industry has boomed in recent years, and this auction, which ended late Wednesday night and included other Finals items, reflected that. Demand was “explosive,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collectibles. There were more than 10 bidders for each lot, while auction houses usually target two, he said.
Brunson and the Knicks added to the interest level by winning the franchise’s first title in 53 years. The victory over the San Antonio Spurs and their young star Victor Wembanyama produced the highest Finals ratings since 1998.
“Virality translates to demand for us,” Wachter said. Sports memorabilia “is a huge area of growth for us.”
The buyer of Brunson’s jersey wasn’t disclosed.
This was the third Finals auction under a partnership between Sotheby’s and the NBA. Previous auctions, which have included Summer League and rookie debut jerseys, included Wembanyama’s jersey from his first NBA game selling for $762,000
Brunson‘s jersey set a record for a Knicks collectible, according to Sotheby’s. But it still trails Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey, which sold for an all-time high of $10 million in 2022.
This year’s Finals auction also featured a section of the Madison Square Garden court bearing the NBA Finals logo, the championship net from Game 5 and a Wembanyama jersey that sold for about $217,000.
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