NEW YORK – A jersey worn by US basketball legend Kobe Bryant — who died three years in the past in a tragic helicopter accident — bought at public sale for $5.8 million on Thursday.
The sale by Sotheby’s in New York set a brand new report for any Bryant merchandise at public sale however got here in underneath the higher pre-sale estimate of $7 million.
The value was comfortably greater than the earlier excessive of $3.7 million paid for a jersey worn by the Los Angeles Lakers titan, who received 5 NBA titles and two Olympic gold medals.
Game-worn sports activities memorabilia is huge business.
Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey, which bought for $10.1 million in September 2022, is presently essentially the most priceless such merchandise.
Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” jersey bought for $9.3 million at Sotheby’s in London final 12 months.
Bryant’s iconic yellow-and-purple quantity 24 jersey, put up on the market by an nameless proprietor, was worn by the legendary Laker in 25 video games in the course of the 2007-2008 season, Bryant’s solely season because the NBA’s Most Valuable Player.
In a type of appearances — a post-season recreation in opposition to the Denver Nuggets on April 23, 2008 — photographers famously captured Bryant celebrating after a profitable three-point shot, gripping his jersey and letting out a primal scream.
The picture has since been plastered on partitions world wide by avenue artists, particularly in Los Angeles, the place Bryant performed his whole skilled profession.
The final time this jersey was put up for public sale, in 2013, it solely fetched $18,678.
It was years earlier than Bryant’s deadly helicopter crash, after which his April 2008 celebration turned “the image that galvanized the public,” Sotheby’s stated. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
