It was one of the most memorable moments from the 2018-19 NCAA basketball season when Duke superstar Zion Williams suffered a knee sprain only 36 seconds into the February 20th game against North Carolina when his foot ripped through his Nike shoe that caused him to slip. Zion was taken out of the game against their heated-rival and did not return. After the game, Zion was listed as day-to-day, much to the relief of the Duke faithful as initial fears were that he did serious damage to his knee. Duke held Williamson out for the final six games of the regular season, making his return for the ACC quarterfinals against Syracuse on March 14. His return was one of legend, as he shot 13-13 from the field (a Duke and ACC Tournament record), scoring 29 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and adding five steals in Duke’s 84-72 victory over Syracuse.

Although Williamson did not play in the final six regular season games, he suited up for all of them and wore these blue Nike sneakers following his near cataclysmic injury. These offered sneakers have been photo matched to the February 23, 2019 game at the Carrier Dome against Syracuse. These size 15 Nike Kobe 16 sneakers are all-blue with gray trim. Each shoe has blue lace holders in the middle with the right shoe having “08”, “23” and “78” numbers, while the left shoe has “33”, “08” and “24”. Kobe Bryant’s facsimile signature are on the rubber ends of each toe, with the left heel having the “Kobe” logo embroidered in white and the right heel having “KO” and “BE” embroidered in white. “KBB” is also embroidered on the tongue-grabs. These sneakers come with a LOA from the MeiGray Group (MGA25070), who have photo matched these sneakers to the February 23, 2019 game in Syracuse.

Please note that this lot has a 25% Buyer’s Premium (28% if payment is made using a credit card and/or is not paid within 10 days of invoice). Goldin Auctions will be donating 5% of the winning bid price to The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Auction Notepad