Kobe Bryant’s legendary No. 24 jersey, worn during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, has sold for an impressive $889,000 at a recent Sotheby’s auction. As with the other two sales, the ongoing legacy of the late great basketball icon is on display. It illustrates how critical his memorabilia is to the sports market.
This custom jersey in particular has Bryant’s signature as well as the inscriptions “FIRST 24” and “1/1” to show it is indeed one of a kind. The jersey has an Upper Deck hologram that confirms its authenticity. This is significant because Upper Deck issued Bryant an exclusivity agreement for all autographs, memorabilia and collectibles that ran until 2009. MeiGray has further authenticated the jersey by photo-matching it to the Lakers’ media day in October 2006.
On November 3, 2006, the world saw Bryant wear his classic jersey in an electrifying game against the Seattle Supersonics. He shot 58.6 percent from the field, scoring 23 points, pacing his team to a 118-112 win. That season, he proved to be one of the greatest scorers of all-time as he scored at least 50 points in a contest an incredible 10 times. This amazing feat netted him his second straight and final league scoring title.
Jerseys, sneakers and cards have all seen huge price jumps in recent years, coinciding with a surge in demand for sports memorabilia. Most recently, a jersey worn by Jerry West between 1964 and 1967 fetched a record $533,400. The previous record reached the most paid for a Kobe Bryant jersey, which went for $7 million. At this amazing price, this was a piece that had been photo-matched to seven of his 1996-97 rookie season games.
In May, a collector purchased a jersey photo-matched to four games from the 1969-70 Lakers season for $868,000, setting an all-time record for a Jerry West item. Sports Investors Authentication authenticated and photo-matched West’s jersey to historic significance. They authenticated that he wore it in key playoff contests in both the 1965 and 1966 Western Division finals, plus Game 2 of the 1966 NBA Finals.
The jerseys from this short period are extremely rare and valuable. Their value goes far beyond just their connection to some of the greats and the history that is deep. Jerry West’s jersey items were received by former Lakers trainer Frank O’Neill in 1967 when the team transitioned to The Forum and have since remained in a private collection.
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