Medical bills mounted for George Mikan and his family in the early part of the last decade.
Fighting diabetes and kidney ailments, Mikan battled until the end, but he died in June of 2005 just days before his 81st birthday. Shaquille O’Neal, a friend of the former Minneapolis Lakers’ superstar, paid for the funeral.
Much of the 
basketball pioneer’s most valuable memorabilia was sold to help pay for surgery and treatment.
Not all of it, however.
The Mikan family has selected LaJolla Jewelry to sell several items including his commemorative NBA Hall of Fame ring, pin and watch, a leather award case and binoculars from the 1955 All-Star game and several autographed items.
The ring and pin are being sold as one lot, with a 1961 autographed first day cover tossed in, for a price of $59,999. The watch has a price of $1299 while the leather award case and binoculars are $3499.
A few Mikan-autographed pieces of Minneapolis Armory floor are available at $449-999.
No word on whether more items will be made available later.
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