His legacy was secure but Robert Parish wasn’t quite ready to hang up his sneakers as the 1996-97 NBA season approached. At age 43 and already a three-time NBA champion, he signed on to play modest minutes for the Chicago Bulls. Now, the championship ring from that next-to-Last Dance season is about to go on the auction block.
The diamond-studded piece is among the items in the upcoming Heritage Auctions Platinum Night catalog. It’s expected to sell for $60,000 or more.
Parish played in an NBA record of over 1,600 regular season games during his 21-year career. Drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 1976, he was traded to the Boston Celtics where he teamed with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale to win championships in 1981, 1983 and 1986.
He was named to the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players roster in 1997. A few years later, he was a first ballot selection to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
The ring includes a Bulls logo on the face, created out of diamonds. Parish’s last name and jersey number “00” are on one side. Engraved on the opposite side is “World Champions, Team of the Decade, 96-97” along with an NBA logo.
The interior band has the logo of Josten’s, which made the Bulls rings and a “14K” gold stamp. The ring weighs 58 grams according to Heritage.
The ring includes a signed letter of provenance from Parish, indicating that no duplicates were made.
The ring was offered at auction ten years ago and sold for $39,000. Parish also consigned his three Celtics championship rings to the same auction and they sold for over $40,000 each.
Bidding for the ring is expected to open Feb. 3.
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