Millions of dollars worth of Miami Heat memorabilia, including game-worn Finals jerseys, stolen and sold on black market in massive heist: report
NBA analyst Amin Elhassan described the huge loss as 'one of the largest heists of this kind' on the Dan LeBatard Show Monday — claiming the millions in gear lifted from the Miami Heat's vaults were sold on the black market.
'Authenticated memorabilia stolen from the Miami Heat, and sold for many, many, many, many, many millions of dollars,' Elhassan said on the Dan LeBatard Show on Monday, Sports Illustrated reported.
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3 The scheme saw game-worn NBA Finals jerseys from the Miami Heat sold on the black market for millions of dollars.
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The collectibles nabbing operation had been in effect for 'at least 18 months,' he claimed.
'Game-worn [NBA] Finals stuff, and this person was taking them and selling them both within the regular market and within the black market,' the NBA insider dished.
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Elhassan hinted that the pilfered gear came from notable players, tellingly laughing when co-host Israel Gutierrez suggested the jerseys could belong to franchise legends Dwayne Wade and LeBron James.
Red flags supposedly went off within the sports memorabilia community when the unidentified seller exhibited a suspiciously deep closet of full, game-worn kits.
3 Miami Heat team president, and former Knicks head coach, Pat Riley, 80, famously resigned from New York's favorite team by way of fax in 1995.
NBAE via Getty Images
'You never see people with this much stuff, right?' Elhassan said. 'You might get a game-worn jersey — but to get like a game-worn full set, NBA finals, for multiple players?'
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Elhassan further stated that more than one person was involved in the scheme — claiming a Miami law enforcement officer and someone with 'ties to the NBA' were also part of the illegal operation, according to the report.
3 The Heat have been in the NBA Finals twice in the last five years, but Elhassan hinted the jerseys were from the LeBron James era championship run.
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The Miami Heat made it to the NBA Finals twice in the last five years, in 2023 and in 2020, but were last in the championship with a LeBron James-led roster in 2014.
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It is not clear whether what, if any, legal ramifications came of the now-exposed scheme.
The NBA didn't return a request for comment by the time of publication. The Miami Heat and Miami-Dade County Sheriff could not be immediately reached for comment.
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