Los Angeles, US: Philadelphia 76ers’ Allen Iverson (left) and Kobe Bryant (right) of the Los Angeles Lakers (right) exchange words at the end of Game Two of the NBA Finals on June 8, 2001 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Angelis. The Lakers won 98-89 to tie the seven-game series 1-1. AFP PHOTO / Jeff HAYNES (must read JEFF HAYNES / AFP via Getty Images)
In the immediate aftermath of Kobe Bryant’s tragic passing, prices for almost all of the merchandise associated with him have skyrocketed. Now, two years later, a memorabilia piece dating back to the beginnings of his career has sold for a historic amount.
according to TMZ, Kobe’s No. 8 jersey worn by the game from his junior season is up for auction via SCP Auctions. The final total was $2,735,546 after 26 attempts.
According to the report, the shirt was one of the shirts Kobe wore during the 1997 playoffs against the Utah Jazz. It is the oldest known shirt that Kobe has worn during any watershed series. He’s been wearing this very one at least five times.
TMZ initially expected the shirt to be worth $5 million. The current record paid for a shirt worn by an American athlete at a game is $5.64 million for a Babe Ruth shirt.
The world record was shattered when soccer legend Diego Maradona dressed in the “God’s Hand Game” that sold for more than $9 million earlier this year.
But $2.7 million for a Cuban shirt isn’t something to sneeze at. not at all.
Last year, it was another piece of Kobe Bryant memorabilia that set the record for the highest price paid for a basketball jersey used in the game. Another jersey from the junior season sold for $3.6 million in May 2021.
Since his death in January 2020, many fans have paid in excess of $200,000 for some of his most famous memorabilia.
One fan paid $201,000 for his 2000 NBA title win, and another paid $216,000 for a Chevy Impala he bought for his wife in 2006. In October 2020, a fan spent more than $630,000 for a signed piece of hardwood from a game Farewell in 2016.
No price tag is too high for most die-hard Kobe fans.
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”