At a recent auction, Kobe Bryant’s final Los Angeles Lakers jersey and shorts from an away game brought in a sizable sum of money.
The “24” jersey and accompanying shorts that the late athlete wore on April 11, 2016, his last away game of his career, were put up for bid by SCP Auctions on Saturday. Twenty individuals submitted bids, with a $50,000 minimum.
The website states that the shorts are a 3XL (Length + 2″ flag tag) and the jersey is a 4XL4.
There is an additional feature to Bryant’s suit that will fascinate any sports memorabilia collector.
According to SCP Auctions’ catalogue, “one notable feature is a microphone pouch inside the front waistband so that Kobe could be mic’d up during games.” Bryant may have found it uncomfortable, so he decided to keep it in his shorts instead of the pouch that is typically located along the inseam at the inner armpit of jerseys made specifically for microphones. We are aware that Kobe loved to travel in these pairs most of the time. Resolution has played nine more games to match it in the final two months of his farewell campaign!
The Black Mamba’s Nike “Kobe 11 Elite Low” tennis shoes, which he also wore during his final game, sold for $118,230 in addition to his shirt and shorts, which brought in $366,967. According to SCP Auctions, the two lots including the entire uniform brought in a total of $485,197. The pieces were described as having “been perfectly preserved since the last time he suited up.”
In Oklahoma City, Bryant participated in his last away game. Bryant had 19 points in the Lakers’ 112-79 loss to the Thunder.
A towel that the NBA legend used during his final game with the Lakers in 2016 went for $33,077 by Iconic Auctions in March 2020, among other artefacts from his final games that have also been auctioned off at high prices.
During his parting speech at the conclusion of his game in Los Angeles on April 13, 2016, Bryant was seen holding the towel in pictures and videos. He concluded with his catchphrase, “Mamba Out,” while carrying the Body Armour towel over his shoulders.
A section of hardwood flooring signed by Bryant and taken from the Staples Centre sold for $631,00 at Heritage Auctions in October 2020. It was from his game on April 13, 2016, as well.
A hardwood floor fragment and the towel were up for auction, but other important pieces of memorabilia from Bryant’s last game have not.
There is very little chance that any uniform piece—shoes, shorts, or jersey—from the “Mamba Out” game will ever be seen in the real world. SCP Auctions stated, “Those museum artefacts will undoubtedly remain in the Bryant family or possibly land up in Springfield, Mass. at some point.
Bryant was a member of the Lakers throughout his whole NBA career. On January 26, 2020, the sports celebrity perished in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people. His age was forty-one.
