Collector Drops Over $175K on Lakers Memorabilia

With a chance to buy a piece of basketball history, a collector dropped north of $175,000 on Los Angeles Lakers memorabilia.

According to Darren Rovell of ESPN, David Kohler picked up 40 Elgin Baylor-related items, including his 1972 championship ring and his 1959 All-Star Game MVP trophy.

Lakers collector David Kohler buys 40 Elgin Baylor items including 71-72 Champ ring ($132K) & '59 All-Star Game MVP trophy ($43K)

— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) June 2, 2013 Kohler is a longtime collector of Lakers' memorabilia, owning everything except Phil Jackson's mustache and Robert Horry's lucky rabbit's foot.

I'm pretty sure he even bought Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's afro way back in the day, which is why the big man went bald. 



Chances are you've at least seen a feature on Kohler at some point in the past decade, as it's the simplest way for newspapers, magazines, TV shows and websites to go back through Lakers history.

Kohler, the president of SCP Auctions, a company that auctions off sports memorabilia (surprise!), owns a pair of glasses from George Mikan, Kurt Rambis and Abdul-Jabbar, along with a signed, game-worn jersey from just about every single player to ever suit up for the Lakers.

With so much already in his collection, it shouldn't really be a huge surprise that he wanted to go after a few iconic pieces from Baylor.

The auction featured hundreds of Baylor-related items, including the former Lakers forward's championship ring and All-Star MVP trophy.

Baylor's championship ring is probably the most important and interesting of any item sold.



The somewhat forgotten Lakers legend went to eight NBA Finals between 1959 and 1971, losing every single time.

Baylor retired after playing just nine games in the 1971-72 season, but the team gave him a ring anyway. Call it a bit of a lifetime achievement award.
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers