A jersey worn by Kobe Bryant during his debut season with the Los Angeles Lakers has been sold at auction for a staggering $7 million (£5.26 million), making it the fourth-most expensive game-worn sports jersey ever auctioned.
The jersey, donned by Bryant during his 1996-97 rookie season, marks a seminal moment in the NBA icon’s illustrious career, which saw him spend two decades with the Lakers, win five NBA Championships, and claim the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 2008.
“Debut games are truly one-of-a-kind moments in an athlete’s career,” said Brahm Wachter, head of modern collectibles at Sotheby’s, the auction house that handled the sale.
Originally sold in 2013 for just over $115,000, the jersey’s value has soared in the years since Bryant’s untimely death in a helicopter crash in 2020, which also claimed the life of his daughter, Gianna.
The sale places the jersey behind only a few iconic pieces of sporting history in terms of value. Babe Ruth’s famed “called shot” jersey, which fetched $24 million in August, holds the record for the most expensive match-worn sports item ever sold. This is followed by Michael Jordan’s “Last Dance” Chicago Bulls jersey from his final season, sold for $10.1 million, and Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” shirt from the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England, which sold for $8.8 million.
Bryant made his NBA debut on 3 November 1996 against the Minnesota Timberwolves and quickly established himself as a rising star. He was named an NBA All-Star by the end of his first season — the youngest in league history at the time — and went on to earn 18 All-Star selections across his career. He remains fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, with 33,643 points.
The latest sale reaffirms Bryant’s enduring legacy and the lasting appeal of memorabilia linked to sporting greats.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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