
Did you notice the Julius Erving jersey that sold in Grey Flannel last week? Wow. It finished at $188,321, which is the highest price I've seen a basketball jersey sell for. It was directly linked to the 1976 NBA All-Star Game and Slam Dunk Contest and included the entire uniform. It also arrived with a letter of authenticity from the ballboy, as well as video and photo matching.
In the same auction, a late 1960s Oscar Robertson Cincinnati Royals game-used and autographed road jersey sold for $66,734, a 1984-85 Michael Jordan rookie Bulls home jersey (with a team LOA included) sold for $55,152 and a 1973-74 Pete Maravich Atlanta Hawks game-used home jersey with a team LOA hit $36,716.

Where do these rank in the pecking order for all-time basketball jerseys? The highest price I have seen before this was in a Sept. 2006 Grey Flannel sale with a circa 1973-74 Erving Nets home jersey selling for $141,927, followed by a 1947-48 George Mikan Lakers home jersey selling for $110,400 in Sept. 2007, also in Grey Flannel.
Beyond that, most of the next ranking jerseys come from the Sotheby's with SCP Auctions sale I attended in NYC last June. That sale included a 1969-70 Willis Reed Knicks home jersey from that historic Final Game of the Championship where he wasn't supposed to play, but did. It sold for $90,000. Also in that sale, a 1957-58 Wilt Chamberlain Kansas Jayhawks home jersey from Chamberlain's estate finished at $72,000, with a 1967 Robertson Royals home uniform ($66,000), Mikan 1947-48 Lakers road jersey ($60,000) and a 1967-68 Bill Russell Celtics home jersey ($60,000) also in that sale. It should also be noted that a 1984 Jordan Bulls road uniform sold for $70,500 in Robert Edward Auctions' 2007 sale.