A rare Kobe Bryant Upper Deck trading card sold on Saturday, May 17 at Goldin auction for a whopping $1.6m USD. The collectible card was signed by the late Los Angeles Laker and included a game-worn Logoman patch from his jersey.
The card dates back to the the 2003/04 season, in which Bryant, fresh off a three-peat, led the Lakers back to the NBA Finals where they lost to the Detroit Pistons. Bryant himself logged in impressive stats that year, averaging 24.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists in a 65 game span, as well as being named first-team All-NBA and first-team All-Defense.
Bryant memorabilia has skyrocketed in value since the basketball player’s tragic passing in 2020. Recently, Bryant’s personal locker during his tenure at Staples Center sold for $2.9m USD. Goldin is also auctioning off a suite of similar sports-related ephemera, including a signed 2017 Patrick Mahomes rookie card, as well as several different signed iterations of Michael Jordan’s rookie card.