Sotheby’s to Auction Knicks’ Game-Winning Finals Ball as Sports Memorabilia Gains Luxury Cachet
A basketball that helped seal one of the most improbable victories in New York sports history is headed to auction. Beginning June 30, Sotheby’s will offer the game-winning ball from the Knicks’ Game 4 comeback against the San Antonio Spurs, the play that capped a 29-point rally at Madison Square Garden and helped propel the team toward its first NBA championship in 53 years.
The ball was used on the second-to-last play of the game, when OG Anunoby tipped in Jalen Brunson’s missed three-pointer to secure a 107–106 win. That basket completed the largest comeback in NBA Finals history and set up the Knicks’ clinching Game 5 in San Antonio two days later. Sotheby’s has given the lot a nickname of its own: “The Hand of OG.”
The auction house has not released an estimate, but sports business analyst Darren Rovell said he expects the ball to bring $3 million. It will be sold online by the NBA alongside 35 other Finals-related lots, including game-used jerseys from several games, the nets from Games 1 and 5, and a piece of the court.
The sale is part of a broader run of basketball-themed auctions under an official NBA partnership. In total, 109 items are slated to come to market in the coming weeks, most of them game-used jerseys from this year’s playoffs.
The move also reflects a larger shift inside the auction business. While art remains the core of Sotheby’s and its rivals, sports memorabilia and other collectibles have become increasingly important as houses look beyond traditional buyers. Christie’s said 38 percent of its new buyers last year came through luxury categories such as handbags, jewelry, wine, classic cars, and memorabilia. Sotheby’s reported that 35 percent of its bidders last year were first-timers.
For auction houses, the appeal is clear: luxury categories can introduce new clients to the mechanics of bidding, then lead them toward other markets. In that sense, a basketball from a championship run is no longer just a sports relic. It is also a gateway object, carrying the emotional charge of a city’s long-awaited triumph and the commercial logic of a changing collector base.
