Account
Kobe Bryant Lakers Rookie Card Graded Gem Mint 10 Auctions for $86,000
August 23, 2020
A Kobe Bryant Topps Chrome Refractors rookie card sold for $86,000 via Goldin Auctions on Saturday.
The winning bid was made after 19 offers, starting with a minimum bid of $15,000.
A description of the item read as follows, per Goldin Auctions:
"Graded GEM MT 10 by PSA. Hall of Famer, in a very desirable and scarce Rookie Card appearance. Among a total of just over 400 copies recorded in PSA's census reporting, barely fifteen percent have been awarded this unimprovable grading assessment.
"On January 26, 2020, a tragic accident claimed the life of Kobe Bryant. One of the sports world's most adored figures, the Lakers superstar seemed larger-than-life on the court, and his grand accomplishments as father, philanthropist, artist and businessman compounded the universality of the grief that was felt so strongly upon his passing. The offered card stands as a super-premium, top-tier memorial to its subject's greatness and character. Gem Mint condition."
Bryant played 20 NBA seasons, winning seven Western Conference titles and five NBA championships. The 18-time All-Star was a lifetime Laker who took home the 2007-08 NBA MVP award. He also won the league's scoring championship twice and sits second on its all-time single-game scoring list with an 81-point effort against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006.
Kobe also excelled on the defensive end and was named an NBA All-Defensive team member 12 times.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP was picked 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA draft. Charlotte soon traded Bryant to the Lakers in a deal that sent big man Vlade Divac the other way.
The 18-year-old Bryant primarily came off the bench in his first year, averaging 7.6 points in just 15.5 minutes per game for the 1996-97 Lakers. He more than doubled in scoring average as the team's sixth man in his second season before joining the starting lineup in Year 3. He and Shaquille O'Neal then led the Lakers to three straight NBA titles from 2000-2002.
Bryant also won back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010.