Following the New York Knickerbockers’ historic win in the 2025–26 NBA season finals, Sotheby’s New York sold a jersey worn by point guard Jalen Brunson on Wednesday for just over $1 million. It was the Knicks’ first championship win in 53 years, and the jersey set a new record for any piece of Knicks memorabilia. The house’s expert, Brahm Wachter, had estimated it could make in excess of $1 million.
Opened on June 30, the sale of finals memorabilia concluded Wednesday, realizing $2.9 million. The sale drew more than 400 registered bidders, said the house, nearly 30% of whom were new to Sotheby’s. New Yorkers accounted for one-third of all sale registrants.
Brunson wore the $1 million jersey on June 3, in game one of the NBA finals, when the Knicks took on the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden. The point guard scored 30 points over the course of the game, 13 of them in the final quarter, as well as racking up three rebounds and two assists, leading the Knicks to a 1-0 series lead in a 105-95 game. Brunson’s surge came when the team needed it most, when they were down 14 points after the third quarter.
Brunson led the team in scoring, earning him Most Valuable Player status in the NBA Finals. He had led the team to its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years in the 2024–25 season.
The Villanova graduate was selected 33rd overall inthe 2018 NBA draft. He had won two national championships for his college team and earned honors including Consensus National Player of the Year. He started his career with the Dallas Mavericks, leading the team to its best finish since 2011, when it went to the Western Conference Finals in 2022.
He then signed with the Knicks and helped the team to its first playoff series in a decade. The team has won more games each successive year under his leadership.
In the same sale, a jersey worn by the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama was the second-best-selling lot, fetching the highest price for any item from that team, selling for $217,600.
A jersey worn during game one by Brunson’s teammate OG Anunoby fetched $256,000. Anunoby’s fame increased at a press conference after he made the game-winning shot in game four, when, asked how it felt, he deadpanned, “Uh, it feels cool. I mean, everyone’s pretty excited. I’m excited too.” A Karl-Anthony Towns jersey fetched the same price. While Sotheby’s originally listed the game-winning ball from game four for sale, dubbed “The Hand of OG,” the lot was later pulled from the sale. An NBA spokesperson told ARTnews on Thursday that the ball will remain with the team “as a lasting piece of franchise history.”
Also selling well was a wood section of the MSG floor emblazoned with the NBA finals logo. It sold for some $243,200.
A net used in game five in San Antonio, when the Knicks cinched the championship, came in at $179,200.
