At 5.8 million dollars, as announced by Sotheby's after a sale which ended online Thursday in New York, the price exceeds 3.7 million dollars, in 2021, for a jersey of the Los Angeles Lakers star with five NBA titles and two Olympic gold medals.
"This jersey is an icon as we rarely see for sporting goods; it was worn 25 times by Kobe (Bryant) throughout the 2007-2008 NBA season", where he was named player of the season regular, commented Brahm Wachter, who heads the streetwear and modern collectibles department at Sotheby's.
"The image of Kobe wearing this particular jersey has passed into popular culture, been reprinted on storefronts, books, newspapers and has become a symbol of his unwavering determination and passion that resonates around the world." , welcomed Mr. Wachter.
View of a mural, in Los Angeles on January 26, 2021, of NBA legend Kobe Bryant holding a jersey whose auction house Sotheby's hopes to draw between 5 and 7 million dollars, one of the highest history award for a sports collectible © Frazer Harrison / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
This sporting goods market, which now attracts wealthy collectors and investors from around the world, had seen its auction records shattered in 2022.
In May, a jersey worn by Argentina captain Diego Maradona at the 1986 FIFA World Cup was purchased for $9.3 million;
in September, a jersey of Chicago Bulls No. 23 Michael Jordan, worn during his last NBA title win in 1998, fetched $10.1 million.
Sotheby's, owned by Franco-Israeli telecom and media magnate Patrick Drahi, also recalls selling a jersey two weeks ago worn by another basketball star, LeBron James, for $ 3.6 million.
Kobe Bryant's yellow and purple N. 24 jersey was sold by a person wishing to remain anonymous.
It was the tunic donned on April 23, 2008, where the player was immortalized in a photo, celebrating a three-point shot against the Denver Nuggets, holding the jersey and screaming a victory cry.
Its price the last time it was bought at auction, in 2013?
$18,678.
The death of Kobe Bryant at the age of 41, in a helicopter crash in California on January 26, 2020, had caused great emotion in the United States and abroad.
© 2023 AFP