Getty This Kobe Bryant game-worn jersey was sold for $915,000.
Kobe Bryant‘s game-worn jersey during the Los Angeles Lakers’ title run in 2009 was sold for $915,000 at an auction.
The winning bidding price costs like a brand new 2024 Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale (retails at $890,000), which is Ferrari’s first series production supercar and their most technologically advanced.
Bryant wore the jersey in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic where the Lakers legend scored 31 points and issued a game-high 8 assists in a 108-104 loss. Despite the jersey getting worn in a loss, it did not stop 29 bidders from trying to get their hands on the memorabilia from Goldin Auctions.
The jersey cost more than twice his final road game jersey in 2016, which was sold for $366,967 by SCP Auction last year. The record sale for a Bryant jersey was $5.8 million for his iconic game-worn autographed jersey from his 2007-2008 MVP season sold also last year by Sotheby’s.
According to Goldin Auctions, the jersey “comes with an LOA from MeiGray (AM010669), who have conclusively photo-matched the jersey to Game 3 of the 2009 NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic on Jun. 9.”
The Lakers eventually won the series with Bryant being named to the first of his two NBA Finals MVP trophies.
The jersey also features “all numbering and lettering in tackle twill and is adorned with an NBA Logoman patch on the upper left chest, plus an NBA Finals Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy patch on the upper right chest.”
It also contains an “Adidas NBA AUTHENTICS manufacturer’s tag, containing an attached size “54” flag, as well as “2008-09” and “LENGTH +4” flags, is embroidered on the jersey’s front left tail and “the Nike tag is MeiGray Group “NBA GameWorn 2008-2009 Season” tag serial-numbered “AM010669.”
Nuggets Spoil LeBron James’ 40,000 Points Milestone
Defending champion Denver Nuggets outplayed the Lakers down the stretch on Saturday, March 2, for a 124-114 win in the rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals.
The Nuggets closed the game with a 19-6 run to spoil LeBron James‘ 40,000 scoring milestone. Needing only nine points to reach the milestone, James finished with 26 points and nine assists. He scored on a layup with 10:39 left in the second quarter to reach 40,000 points.
“Being the first player to do something, it’s pretty cool in this league, just knowing the history, the greats that’s come through the league and then you see some of the greats on the floor tonight, it was great to compete,” James told reporters. “But for me, the main thing, as always, is to win, and I hated that it had to happen in a defeat.”
Nikola Jokic poured in 35 points and 10 rebounds while his supporting cast of Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter, Jr. all delivered to deal James and the Lakers a heartbreaking loss.
Lakers Sign Harry Giles III on 2-Way Deal
The Lakers are adding Harry Giles III on a two-way deal, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, for frontline depth in the wake of Christian Wood‘s injury.
Wood (left knee effusion) has been out since February 22 as he joined another Lakers frontcourt player Jarred Vanderbilt (right midfoot sprain) and two-way player Colin Castleton (fractured right wrist) on the sidelines.
The Lakers are thin on the frontcourt for the stretch run with only Anthony Davis and Jaxson Hayes alternating as their centers.
Giles, a former Duke standout who was the 20th overall pick in 2017, was waived by the Brooklyn Nets last month. The 6-foot-11 forward-center averaged 3.4 points on 50% shooting and 1.6 rebounds in 5.1 minutes in 16 games this season.