Jalen Brunson’s Finals Jersey Just Became the Most Expensive Knicks Item Ever Sold

Jalen Brunson’s Game 1 NBA Finals jersey just sold for $1.024 million at a Sotheby’s auction. That’s a record not just for any Brunson memorabilia but for any New York Knicks item ever sold at auction, according to ESPN.

The auction wrapped up Wednesday, July 8, 2026, after 70 bids. The final price tag blew past the starting estimate and cemented Brunson’s place in Knicks history — not just as the guy who ended the franchise’s 53-year championship drought, but as the guy whose jersey is now the most valuable piece of orange and blue cloth out there.

It wasn’t the only jersey on the block. Sotheby’s put up 15 game-worn Knicks jerseys from the Finals. Karl-Anthony Towns’ and OG Anunoby’s both went for $256,000. Josh Hart’s sold for $89,600. The rest of the rotation’s jerseys fetched five figures too, but Brunson’s was the one that broke seven.

Why Brunson’s jersey pulled seven figures

Context matters here. The Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games to win their first championship since 1973. Brunson was the Finals MVP, averaging 32.6 points per game. He had 45 points in the series-clinching Game 5, hitting more than half his shots. He went for at least 30 in every Finals game except one. The man got better as the pressure ratcheted up.

This isn’t just a high-end collector’s flip, either. It’s the most expensive piece of Knicks memorabilia ever, period. That includes everything from the Patrick Ewing era, the Carmelo Anthony years, the Willis Reed moments. Brunson’s jersey now sits alone at the top.

How Brunson got here

he came to New York as an undersized guard most people thought was a nice player but not a franchise cornerstone. Four seasons later, he’s a champion and a Finals MVP. He averaged more than 25.5 points per game in every playoff series. He met the moment every time the stakes went up. The Knicks fans who packed Madison Square Garden and flooded the streets after Game 5 aren’t surprised. The auction results just confirm what they already knew.

The Knicks now head into next season as defending champions. Brunson will be back for his fifth season in New York. Whether they can repeat is the obvious question. But for now, his Game 1 jersey is sitting in someone’s collection as the most expensive Knicks item ever sold. That’s not bad for a second-round pick who wasn’t supposed to be this good.