Kareem Abdul-Jabbar UCLA Championship Jersey Sells for $1.25 Million

A UCLA jersey worn by Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, during one of the most dominant stretches in college basketball history has sold for $1,254,918.84 at Grey Flannel Auctions. The photo-matched No. 33 jersey was worn during UCLA’s 1968 NCAA championship run and again during the Bruins’ 1968-69 season, making it a rare piece tied directly to multiple championship moments from Alcindor’s college career.

Grey Flannel described the jersey as the only known photo-matched Lew Alcindor UCLA game-used jersey to have surfaced. It has been conclusively matched to the March 23, 1968 NCAA National Championship Game against North Carolina at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, including photographs taken during the postgame net-cutting celebration after UCLA’s 78-55 victory. Alcindor scored 34 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the championship game as the Bruins captured another national title under coach John Wooden.

The same jersey continued to be used after that championship season. Grey Flannel says UCLA issued fresh jerseys for the championship game but kept earlier uniforms in service, allowing this particular No. 33 to remain in Alcindor’s rotation during the following season. It has also been photo-matched to multiple games from UCLA’s 1968-69 campaign, including the March 20, 1969 NCAA national semifinal against Drake at Freedom Hall in Louisville. Alcindor finished that game with 25 points and 21 rebounds as UCLA won 85-82 on its way to a third consecutive NCAA championship.

The white Sand Knit jersey features UCLA’s blue-and-gold trim, “UCLA” lettering across the chest and Alcindor’s No. 33 on the front and back. It carries a Sand Knit size 44 label and was offered with photo-match documentation from both Sports Investors Authentication and PSA. The auction house said the jersey remained in remarkable condition while displaying the type of wear expected from an extensively used game jersey.

The jersey entered Grey Flannel’s August 16 Photo-Matched Auction with a $25,000 starting bid and ultimately attracted 29 bids before closing at $1,254,918.84, including the buyer’s premium. The result places the jersey among the most valuable pieces of college basketball memorabilia ever sold publicly.

It also represents an enormous increase over a previous major sale of an Alcindor UCLA jersey. In 2017, SCP Auctions sold a 1966-67 game-worn UCLA home jersey for $137,849, which at the time was reported as a record price for a college game-worn jersey. The newly sold Grey Flannel example brought more than nine times that amount.

The $1.25 million result falls just short of the $1.38 million paid at Heritage Auctions in 2021 for Michael Jordan’s photo-matched 1982-83 University of North Carolina jersey. That Jordan jersey remains one of the benchmark sales for college basketball uniforms, while the Alcindor result now joins it in seven-figure territory.

Alcindor’s UCLA career remains one of the most decorated in college basketball history. During his three varsity seasons, UCLA went 88-2, won three consecutive NCAA championships and Alcindor earned NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors in all three title runs. During the 1968-69 season, he also became the first recipient of the Naismith College Player of the Year Award.

The combination of photo-matching, championship use and the fact that the same jersey can be tied to multiple seasons gives the piece unusual provenance. At $1.25 million, the sale establishes this No. 33 as one of the most valuable pieces of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar memorabilia to reach the auction market and one of the biggest public results ever recorded for a college basketball jersey.