Kobe Bryant’s rookie home jersey sold for $2.73M at auction

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) - A LA Lakers jersey worn by Kobe Bryant during his rookie season was sold for $2.735 million at an auction on Sunday.

"Kobe's only known rookie playoff matched jersey finishes at a price fitting of the Mamba Mentality," SCP Auctions said in a statement.

The No. 8 jersey from the 1996-97 season was "photomatched" to four games during his rookie campaign, including two playoff games.

A five-time NBA champion, Bryant was killed on Jan. 26, 2020 in a California helicopter crash.

He scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in a 2006 game – the second greatest scoring performance in a single NBA game after Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points against the New York Knicks in 1962.

Known as the Black Mamba, Bryant was a Lakers loyal as he spent his entire career with the same franchise.

The 18-time NBA All-Star won five NBA titles with the Lakers in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2010.

He also helped the US national team win two Olympic gold medals in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, and retired from the game in 2016.