Image via Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s will hold an auction for a Kobe Bryant jersey from the 2007–08 season, the year he won the NBA MVP award. Early predictions indicate that it might bring in up to $7 million.
The listing states that the golden Lakers jersey was worn in 25 games overall, including the evening when he received his lone MVP award. It will be up for sale from February 2 to February 9. Its estimated worth ranges from $5 million to $7 million.
“The jersey is tied to perhaps the most iconic imagery of Kobe,” Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles Brahm Wachter told Women’s Wear Daily. “In game two of the Western Conference first round, Kobe sent a three pointer and sort of did this celebration and all of these images were taken. The imagery associated with that moment has taken on a life of its own. Notably, the most visited and most famous Kobe mural in Los Angeles painted by Jonas Never features this jersey. As we began a search around the world, we were seeing this jersey in China and Australia. There are murals all over the world that feature this imagery.”
The listing states that the jersey exhibits significant marks of use, which Watcher claims increases its worth. Watcher continued, “So many jerseys are worn for a game or a half.
The auction for the jersey is a part of Sotheby’s Zenith Part I, an online tribute of other renowned players including Tom Brady and Michael Jordan. A Michael Jordan game-used jersey from the 1998 NBA Final that sold for $10.1 million set a previous record for the auction house.