Wilt Chamberlain’s 1959-60 Philadelphia uniform from his NBA rookie MVP season fetches $1.79m – a vintage record
- $1.79m is the most ever paid for vintage basketball memorabilia at an auction
- Wilt Chamberlain won MVP and Rookie of the Year in his first NBA season
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Wilt Chamberlain set yet another record on Saturday when his rookie uniform was sold for nearly $1.8million at auction.
The rookie jersey and shorts from Chamberlain’s 1959-60 season with the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors) were purchased for $1.792m through SCP Auctions on Saturday.
Chamberlain played for 50 games in that season – including two games in which he dropped more than 45 points and 20 rebounds.
He put up 47 points and 36 boards in a January game against the Boston Celtics and surpassed the feat three days later with a 52-point, 20-rebound game against the Minneapolis Lakers.
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This auction set the record for the most ever paid for vintage basketball memorabilia in American history.
Wilt Chamberlain’s Philadelphia Warriors rookie kit from 1959-60 sold at auction for $1.79m
Chamberlain won the MVP and Rookie of the Year awards in his debut NBA season with Philly
The uniform is predominantly made of a white cloth but features ‘PHILA’ on the front in red and blue – the city’s colors – and has Wilt’s iconic No. 13 on the back.
The home jersey also has a bit of blood on it, and its white shorts show off thick red, blue and gold lines too.
‘The Big Dipper’ – Chamberlain’s nickname – also wore the jersey when Philly lost to the Celtics in six games in the Eastern Division playoff series.
It just goes to show how dominant of a player the 7-foot-1 center was in what was only his first ever year in the world of professional basketball.
During his rookie season, Chamberlain won the first of his four league MVPs. He averaged an unprecedented 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game, two current NBA records, at the time.
The basketball Hall of Fame member also won the Rookie of the Year in 1959-60 at the tender age of 23.
Chamberlain joined the Philadelphia Warriors after dominating college basketball for three years at the University of Kansas.
He played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to joining the NBA and after his junior year at Kansas, as the league did not accept players until after their college graduating class had been completed.
Chamberlain went on to play for 14 seasons in the NBA, nine years in Philly and five in LA
Chamberlain went on to play for 14 seasons in the NBA, nine years in Philadelphia before spending five seasons with the Lakers.
He averaged more than 30 points and nearly 23 rebounds throughout his career and was a 13-time All-Star, 11 rebounding and seven-time scoring champion.
In a game against the New York Knicks in 1962, Chamberlain scored 100 points, which is still a current record in today’s NBA.
In total, he still has 71 other records waiting to be broken.
