Kobe Bryant rookie jersey worn during NBA playoffs set to fetch up to £4m at auction

The iconic basketball star lost his life in a helicopter crash almost two and a half years ago

(Getty Images)

A purple and gold jersey worn 25 years ago by Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant during his rookie season will hit the auction block next month and is estimated to fetch between $3 million and $5 million (£2.4 to £4m), SCP Auctions said on Wednesday.

Bryant entered the league as a teenager in 1996 and the number eight jersey has been “resolution photomatched” to four games during his rookie campaign, including two playoff games, SCP said.

The jersey has also been matched to Bryant’s 1997 Skybox Z-Force trading card, where he can be seen wearing it on the back of the card.

“In SCP’s opinion, this spectacular specimen from the legendary Laker’s rookie campaign could set a new price record for a game-worn basketball jersey,” the auction house said in a release.

“The current record is $3.69 million for another Kobe rookie jersey. However, that example was worn solely in the regular season, whereas this magnificent jersey was worn in the Mamba’s first-ever playoffs.”

Bryant entered the league straight out of high school and went on to win five NBA championships in his 20 seasons with the Lakers. The Hall of Famer perished in a helicopter crash in January 2020.

Bidding on the jersey begins 18 May and concludes 4 June.

Recently, Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ shirt - the one he wore scoring twice against England at the 1986 World Cup - sold for £7.1m ($9.3m) at auction to become the most expensive match-worn sports jersey in history.

Reuters