Kobe Bryant Game-Worn Jersey Sells at Auction for $5.8M

A game-worn basketball jersey that was worn by Los Angeles Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant, has reportedly sold for $5.8 million at a recent Sotheby’s auction.

According to Sotheby’s, the game-worn basketball jersey from Bryant’s MVP season (2007-2008) set a record for a Kobe Bryant item at the famed auction house. It was the “most valuable Bryant item ever sold” although it comes in second place for the highest price paid for a basketball jersey.

“Kobe Bryant’s game-worn Los Angeles Lakers Jersey from his only MVP season scored $5.8 million today, becoming the most valuable Bryant item ever sold at auction and second most valuable basketball jersey ever sold.”

Another record smashed at #SothebysNewYork!

Kobe Bryant’s game-worn Los Angeles Lakers Jersey from his only MVP season scored $5.8 million today, becoming the most valuable Bryant item ever sold at auction and second most valuable basketball jersey ever sold. pic.twitter.com/HTbiwL0q3F

— Sotheby’s (@Sothebys) February 9, 2023

The record for the highest-priced basketball jersey that was sold at Sotheby’s (and just in general) belongs to the jersey worn by the Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan. That jersey, which the six-time NBA champion wore for the opening game of the 1998 NBA Finals was sold for over $10 million in September 2022 at Sotheby’s.

When the jersey was initially listed, the expected price for the item was between $5 and $7 million.

Bryant wore this basketball jersey from the start of the season in 2007 until the end of the Western Conference Finals on May 29, 2008, according to Sotheby’s website. The five-time NBA champion wore this particular jersey in five pre-season games, 14 regular season games, and six playoff games.

This jersey was worn during the only season he won the league’s MVP award.

Bryant was a five-time NBA champion, a two-time Finals MVP, and the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player. During his career, he made the All-Star team 18 times and was the youngest player to reach 30,000 points. Bryant retired in 2016 and scored an NBA-season-high 60 points in his final game.

The 41-year-old basketball legend died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people on January 26, 2020.