Kobe Bryant, in his 20-year career, gifted the NBA world countless memories. The vivid pictures he imprinted in the minds of the fans still make them crave more Black Mamba magic. While this thirst can only be quenched with retro footages, the avenue to keep the Lakers legend close to one’s heart can also be through the auction house.
Some of this memorabilia that can be acquired in such a manner has now surfaced on the market. Let’s see exactly what those are!
Rare Kobe Bryant memorabilia take center stage at auction market
1996 was one of the best NBA draft classes ever. From Allen Iverson to Ray Allen to Steve Nash, there was no shortage of college basketball phenoms. One of them was Kobe Bryant.
On the night of June 26, 1996, Kobe was drafted number 13 in the first round by the Hornets and later was traded to the Lakers. The moment was witnessed by thousands of fans and one such fan has now made that night’s ticket available for auction. The stub is not the only memorabilia though.
A 33×25-inch framed clay handprint of the 5-time NBA championship winners is also up for grabs and is projected to fetch $20K at the bidding table. The print was taken during a Paris tour in 2017. In this same tour, he also linked up with the soccer megastar of today, Kylian Mbappe. Kobe’s fingers were coated in gold paint during the imprinting process as part of a project for French artist Sacha Schwarz.
Recently, Kobe Bryant’s jersey from his final road game fetched $485K at an auction. Although these two pieces of memorabilia may not hold the same value as a jersey, bidders may still face stiff competition to acquire these collector’s items.
Most valuable Kobe Bryant memorabilia sold for $5.8 million
From trading cards to shoes to jerseys, there is no shortage of Bryant relics. All these fetch a handsome fee on the auction market, but none stands above his 2007-2008 season jersey.
The jersey was sold last year for a whopping $5.8 million, and there’s a good reason for it. The worn jersey was part of Kobe’s one and only regular-season MVP-winning campaign. The jersey also comes with the Black Mamba’s signature.
Despite falling $5.3 million short of Michael Jordan’s 1998 jersey, it broke the record for the highest-priced Kobe Bryant memorabilia, which previously stood at $3.7 million—a jersey from his rookie 1996-1997 season.
While hoarding many valuable memorabilia of sporting icons can be hazardous, as there is always a chance of it getting stolen, the buyers of the aforementioned pair of memorabilia must focus on spending some more on security as well.
