No shocker here, the game ball from Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s first NBA title run just shattered auction history, pulling in US$508,000. 

Sotheby’s closed the sale about two weeks after listing the ultra-rare Spalding ball in its Winter Sports Classic, blowing past the old record set by the Thunder’s 2025 Game 7 ball, which went for just over US$107,000.

The price hike isn’t hard to understand.

This wasn’t just any ball, it sealed the Lakers’ return to glory in 2000, their first championship since the Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar era. The Kobe/Shaq partnership went on to bulldoze through the league, stacking three straight titles before O’Neal headed to Miami, and this ball stands as a reminder of the powerhouse duo that ruled the NBA.