Goldin’s Pistons and Lakers Deals Put Game-Worn Memorabilia in Focus

Game-worn jerseys are at the center of Goldin’s new relationships with the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers, giving the auction house a direct route to memorabilia tied to the teams and their seasons. The arrangements could also bring collectors special auctions, fan experiences and items connected to significant moments.

Goldin announced its agreement with the Pistons on September 30, 2026, naming the auction house the team’s game-worn memorabilia partner. A similar arrangement links Goldin with the Lakers. Together, the deals reflect a strategy to build long-term relationships with teams, leagues and other rights holders, according to Kyle Thousand, Goldin’s head of partnerships.

Direct access to team memorabilia

Thousand said he and Goldin founder Ken Goldin developed the strategy after Thousand joined the company earlier in 2026 to lead global partnerships. The two team arrangements came together through different routes. Ken Goldin’s longstanding business relationship with Lon Rosen, the Lakers’ president of business operations, helped open discussions with Los Angeles. Thousand said his own outreach led to conversations with Dan Lefton and the Pistons.

Lefton, the Pistons’ executive vice president and chief revenue officer, described the appeal of game-worn items as a connection between players, fans and memorable moments. A jersey tied to a particular performance or period in a franchise’s history has a specific story attached to it, Thousand said—one that can’t be recreated by a standard piece of team merchandise.

That provenance is a large part of the collecting interest. A game-worn item can connect a physical object to a player’s time on the court, a team’s run through a season or a moment remembered by fans. The new arrangements put Goldin in position to handle items from the teams, while the details of any particular item, including its connection to a game or player, will remain central to its appeal.

Two franchises with deep histories

The Lakers bring a long list of notable players and milestones to the arrangement. The team has won 17 NBA championships, second only to the Boston Celtics, and holds the league records for NBA Finals appearances, with 32, and regular-season wins, with 3,550 going into the 2026–27 season. Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant are among the legends whose jerseys are part of the franchise’s history.

The Pistons’ history offers a different set of collecting touchstones. The franchise has three NBA championship banners and two National Basketball League titles. Its late-1980s peak, led by Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman, remains a defining chapter for the team and for fans collecting Detroit basketball memorabilia.

That sale offers a recent example of the attention a documented Pistons jersey can attract. Goldin sold the Rodman jersey for just under $60,000 in August 2026. The result belongs to that specific item and sale; it doesn’t establish a standard price for other jerseys. For collectors, the player, game, condition and supporting documentation all shape what a particular piece represents.

More than jerseys on the schedule

Game-worn memorabilia will anchor the program, but Thousand said the teams and Goldin may also develop special auctions, unique fan experiences and offerings tied to historic memorabilia or important points in a season. Those possibilities leave room for the program to follow the calendar: a notable performance or franchise milestone could create a natural focus for a future offering.

The Pistons’ growing activity in memorabilia also helped draw Goldin’s interest. Earlier in the year, Detroit and Cllct launched a limited-edition printed-ticket program for the 2025–26 NBA Playoffs. Thousand said that initiative contributed to Goldin’s interest in working with the team, adding another example of the Pistons’ efforts to connect fans with physical keepsakes.

For collectors, the next thing to watch is how the arrangements take shape in practice: which items reach auction, what moments they document and what information accompanies each piece. The franchises bring extensive histories, but the strongest offerings will be defined by the object itself and the story that can be traced to it.