Elgin Baylor Auctioning Off NBA Championship Ring and Other Mementos

Los Angeles Lakers legend Elgin Baylor is putting some valuable keepsakes up for grabs at an auction starting this Friday. Baylor, 78, says it’s time for the fans to enjoy these items (if they have the cash.) Per the LA Times: “You want to buy his 1971-72 NBA championship ring, the only lasting memento of his only Lakers title? It will cost you at least $40,000. How about his 1959 All-Star game co-MVP trophy, the only time he earned the highest honor in the league’s most prestigious game? The bidding starts at $10,000. Through Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, beginning Friday at 10 a.m., Baylor is selling 358 pieces of personal memorabilia, including his rings, his plaques and his bowling shoes. Rarely have the contents of a Lakers legend’s closet been so publicly unearthed. Never has the foundation of basketball’s greatest franchise been so available for purchase. […] ‘I’m constantly getting calls from people interested in my stuff, and I finally thought, it’s time,’ said Baylor, 78. ‘I’ve had some of these things for 60 years. It’s time to share some of them with the fans who have been so wonderful to me.’ He knows what you’re thinking. He knows you’re thinking, poor Elgin. He knows you think he is selling his life’s work because he needs the money, or he’s worried about his heirs paying an inheritance tax on the items. He knows you’re thinking he’s desperate. But Baylor says he’s fine. He always says he’s fine. ‘You’re thinking there’s something financial going on here, but it’s not true,” he said. ‘I have no financial problems at all. None of that. Seriously.’ You want his simple but powerful Hall of Fame certificate dated 1976? It’s going for at least $5,000. How about his 1958 NCAA title game ring from Seattle University, acquired during the school’s last trip to the Final Four? The bidding is at $3,000. ‘I’ve had so much enjoyment with these things over the years. Now it’s time to let someone else enjoy them,’ Baylor said.”