Michael Jordan-Kobe Bryant Card Sells for $12.9M, Record for Most Expensive Card Ever

NBA legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are still finding ways to set records.

An Upper Deck Exquisite Collection trading card featuring MJ and Kobe just sold for more than $12.9 million through Heritage Auctions, the highest ever paid for a card at a public auction.

Cllct's Ben Burrows noted the final price narrowly eclipses the $12.6 million one bidder paid for a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card in 2022. This is also more than double the previous record for an NBA card ($5.2 million).

The Upper Deck Exquisite Collection piece was a 1-of-1 insert boasting not only Bryant and Jordan's autographs but also the NBA logoman from one of their jerseys. In the case of MJ, his logoman was the special gold variety the league used for its 50th anniversary in 1996-97.

Jordan led the NBA in scoring (29.6) that year, and it was midway through the Chicago Bulls' second three-peat after he came out of retirement in 1995. Chicago beat the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals, with Jordan crowned the Finals MVP for the fifth time.

During the Exquisite Collection run, Bryant and Jordan were paired with other NBA stars past and present for dual autograph/logo cards. The one just sold was the only card with them together.