Former NBA Asst. Coach Searching For Championship Ring

REDONDO BEACH (CBSLA.com) —A former NBA assistant coach is searching for the prized championship ring he lost in Redondo Beach.

Mike Uporsky, who worked for the Seattle SuperSonics when they won the title in 1979, was walking his dog on the beach when the ring somehow fell from his finger.

“It was rarely off my hand in the 34 years that I had it,” he said. “How I got it and the effort that went into that…it’s like losing a family member.”

Uporsky hired Adriano Mattoni, a metal detector specialist, to find the ring.

Although Mattoni has discovered thousands of wedding rings in the sand, he said finding this chip could be more challenging.

“It still might be in these bushes or ivy somewhere, but if it landed in the ivy, nobody is going to see it, not for years,” he said.

The ring is solid gold with a diamond on top of it. The mold was broken after they were made. A collector once told Uporsky it could be worth more than $100,000.

Uporsky hopes whoever finds the ring will return it to him.

“It would refresh my strength in human nature if somebody returned it,” he said.

Anyone with information on the ring was encouraged to contact the Redondo Beach Police Department.