A match shirt of former American basketball player Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) will be auctioned, Sotheby’s announced on Thursday, which expects a value of between five and seven million dollars (between 4.6 and 6.5 million euros).
These values would place the item among the most expensive sporting goods ever auctioned, alongside a jersey belonging to former Argentine football player Diego Maradona (1960-2020), used in the 1986 World Cup, and one belonging to American basketball player Michael Jordan, for the Chicago bulls.
It would still be above the $3.7 million that cost, even at auction, another jersey owned by Bryant, a former Los Angeles Lakers player and five-time North American League (NBA) champion, and two-time Olympic champion.
At stake is a yellow and purple Lakers jersey, with the number 24 that popularized ‘Mamba’, at auction by an anonymous seller, which Sotheby’s says was worn 25 times by the basketball player in the 2007/08 season.
It was most notably used on April 23, 2008, when a photo of a triple he scored against the Denver Nuggets became iconic, showing him pulling up his jersey to celebrate the triumph.
In 2013, the item was purchased for just over $18,000, but in a different context, as it has now been verified to have been used on 25 dates, in addition to the image becoming a symbol after Bryant’s death at a car crash. accident. in 2020.
The shirt will be on display in New York from February 1st and is part of an internet auction that will take place between the 2nd and 9th of that month.
Source: DN
