A Los Angeles Lakers jersey regularly worn and signed by Kobe Bryant will be auctioned next month with a high estimate of US$7 million, making it the most valuable Bryant jersey to appear on the open market. The late basketball star wore the gold jersey on Lakers media day on Oct. 1, 2007, and throughout the NBA Western Conference finals on May 9, 2008. During the 2007-08 season, he scored 645 points in the same jersey over 25 games, according to Sotheby’s, which is handling the auction. He was named league’s most valuable player that year, his only MVP season. [Source: Barrons.com]
This is also the only gold jersey Bryant wore during the 2008 NBA playoffs, Sotheby’s said. He wore it again for his official MVP portrait that year.
“Sports artifacts with this type of long-term, heavy wear are a rarity in the collecting space, with many modern items worn for just a single game,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectables, said in a news release.
This jersey has been featured in murals and artworks depicting the basketball legend across the globe. There are more than 15 such murals in California alone, including the painting by artist Jonas Never located near the team’s arena in Los Angeles, according to Sotheby’s.
Photo by Greg Cohen of Los Angeles Kobe Bryant mural by Jonas Never is included in the lot.
Courtesy of Sotheby’s
A shooting guard, Bryant spent his entire 20-year professional career with the Lakers. He appeared in 18 All-Star games, won two Finals MVP awards, and two gold medals on the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams.
Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif., in 2020. He was 41. The jersey will be sold at Sotheby’s online from Feb. 2-9, with bidding starting at US$5 million. It will be on public exhibition from Feb. 1-7 in Sotheby’s New York galleries.
The auction house declined to disclose the identity of the consignor. The jersey is offered with a collection of photographs of Bryant in this jersey taken by Greg Cohen, and a number of related items, including artwork, t-shirts, pins, books, and more. The current record for any item of Kobe Bryant sports memorabilia is a game-worn and autographed jersey from his 1996-97 rookie season. It sold for US$3.7 million in 2021 at Goldin Auctions. [Source: Barrons.com]
