The only Kobe Bryant jersey ever photo-matched to his rookie season postseason sold for $2.735 million at auction, the second-highest price ever paid for a match basketball jersey. Kobe Bryant wore that jersey as well. The new jersey was supposed to sell for anything between $3 and $5 million. According to the Associated Press, Bryant wore the jersey in his rookie season (1996-97), which included two playoff games. Meigray, Resolution, and Sports Investors photo-matched the Lakers legend’s jersey.

“The overall auction generated extraordinarily good figures and numerous record sales,” SCP Auctions President David Kohler said in a written statement. The auction raised more than $8 million, making it the company’s second-largest auction ever. This extraordinary transaction occurred in the middle of stock market turbulence and a global conflict.” According to NBA.com, the buyer did not want to be recognised with the seller, who had owned the jersey for 25 years.

One of Bryant’s rookie jerseys was sold for $3.69 million last year. The highest sum ever paid for a basketball jersey was paid for an autographed, yellow game-worn basketball jersey.

The winner received the jersey Bryant dressed for the Los Angeles Lakers in regular-season victories over Utah on April 13, 1997, and Sacramento on April 17, 1997. In the Western Conference playoffs against Utah on May 8 and 10, he wore the identical jersey at home.

Bryant was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers for his entire 20-year NBA career. He was a five-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, and the most valuable player in the league in 2008. Bryant was the youngest player to ever exceed 30,000 career points and was named to the All-Star team 18 times during his career. In 2016, Bryant announced his retirement from the NBA.

On Jan. 26, 2020, the 41-year-old basketball legend, along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.