Kobe Bryant’s ‘No. 8’ Jersey From When He Was A Rookie Sells For $2.7M

A jersey that had been worn by Kobe Bryant during his rookie season for the Los Angeles Lakers has been sold at auction for US$2.7 million, signifying the continued influence of the late basketball player.

SCP Auctions sold the ‘No. 8’ jersey to an undisclosed bidder after the seller, also undisclosed, had owned it for 25 years. SCP’s CEO David Kohler claims that the jersey had been worn by Bryant a total of five times in the 1997 season. Bryant entered the league that same year straight out of high school

 
The jersey accompanied Bryant for two regular-season wins. On April 13, 1997, the Lakers defeated Utah at the old Forum, and on April 17, 1997, they defeated Sacramento.   

Last year, another of Bryant’s rookie jerseys went on auction and sold for a whopping US$3.6 million, the highest-ever paid for a basketball jersey, the Associated Press reports. The garment was verified by independent authenticators, who used photo evidence to match the likeness of the jersey. This makes it the only-ever jersey to be photo-matched, and according to Kohler, has turned it into the most valuable basketball memorabilia. 

Photomatched game-used rookie Kobe jersey brought in $2.73 million last night at @SCPAuctions. pic.twitter.com/ZeVUwBEMI0

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 5, 2022

[via Hypebeast and AP News, Photo 35854712 © Jerry Coli | Dreamstime.com]