Wilt Chamberlain’s home rookie uniform fetches $1.79M in auction

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. — The home jersey and shorts worn by basketball Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain during his NBA rookie season sold for $1.79 million during a weekend auction, setting a record for a vintage game-used basketball item.

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California-based SCP Auctions sold the jersey, which Chamberlain wore during home games for the Philadelphia Warriors during the 1959-60 season, for $1,792,289, including a buyer’s premium.

The “Big Dipper” wore the uniform during the regular season and playoffs.

The uniform was offered during a special one-item spotlight auction, Sports Collectors Daily reported.

There were 16 bids, and the uniform was won by actor and avid collector Rob Gough, who also won Wayne Gretzky’s final-game jersey in a sale last week by Grey Flannel Auctions, according to Sports Collectors Daily. He also won a jersey worn during the NBA Finals by Kobe Bryant in a sale by Goldin Auctions.

In 2021, Gough also bought a 1952 Topps baseball card of Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle for a then-record $5.2 million.

Chamberlain, who stood 7 feet, 1 inch, played for the Warriors in Philadelphia and San Francisco from 1959 until the 1964-65 season. Traded back to Philadelphia, “Wilt the Stilt” starred for three-plus seasons for the 76ers and finished his career out west with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1968 to 1973.

A two-time NBA champion, Chamberlain won seven league scoring titles and was the top rebounder in 11 seasons. He still holds 72 NBA records, SCP Auctions wrote in its auction listing.

According to Basketball-Reference.com, Chamberlain played 14 seasons in the NBA, scoring 31,419 points and pulling down 23,924 rebounds.

His signature game came on March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, when Chamberlain became the only NBA player to score 100 points in a game.

He was inducted into the Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979.

The jersey from Chamberlain’s rookie season was photo-matched and authenticated by MeiGray, Resolution, Sports Investors Authentication and carries an A10 rating from MEARS, Sports Collectors Daily reported.