Kobe Bryant’s First No. 24 Lakers Jersey Sells For $889K

The first No. 24 jersey worn by Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers recently sold for $889,000, including buyer’s premium, at Sotheby’s. Bryant wore the jersey while posting 23 points in a 118-112 victory against the Seattle SuperSonics on Nov. 3, 2006.

No. 24 Lakers Jersey Was Signed By Kobe Bryant

According to ESPN’s Dan Hajducky, the jersey was signed by Bryant with the inscriptions “FIRST 24” and “1/1” on the jersey’s numbers, including an Upper Deck hologram, as the company had an autograph and memorabilia deal with Bryant until 2009.

In addition, MeiGray Authenticated photo-matched the jersey to the Lakers’ 2006 media day in October.

“This jersey is not merely a relic of a single night, but a symbolic artifact from a career that bridged eras and identities,” Sotheby’s Brendan Hawkes said in a pre-sale statement.

“Signed and inscribed to forever link it to the debut of No. 24, it stands as one of the most culturally and historically significant Kobe Bryant jerseys to ever surface — the tangible starting point of a chapter that would help define his legend.”

During the 2006 offseason, Bryant changed his jersey number from eight to 24.

Bryant wore No. 24 in high school in the Philadelphia area before switching to No. 33, and he wore No. 24 for the rest of his career.

Bryant went on to win two out of his five NBA championships in the No. 24 jersey, leading the Lakers to three straight NBA Finals appearances from 2008 to 2010.

He was named Finals MVP for the first time in his career in 2009, and he won it again the following year. The Lakers retired both No. 8 and No. 24 in his honor shortly after his retirement in 2016.

First Bryant Game-Worn Lakers Jersey Sold For $7 Million

The most ever paid for any Bryant jersey is $7 million. It was for a jersey that was photo-matched to seven games from his 1996-97 rookie season. That was reportedly his Lakers debut jersey, which sold at Sotheby’s in April.

It set a new record for any Bryant sports collectible, surpassing the $5.84 million spent on a game-worn, signed jersey from the 2007-08 season in which Bryant won his lone MVP award.

“Debut games are truly one-of-a-kind moments in an athlete’s career,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collectibles, in a statement.

“They mark the nascency of an extraordinary journey, and for iconic athletes like Kobe Bryant, these milestones hold even more significance as they represent a singular moment in time that can never be replicated.”

Per Hajducky, the $7 million Bryant jersey is the fourth-most-expensive game-worn sports jersey of all time, ranking behind the $24 million Babe Ruth “called shot” jersey, Michael Jordan’s $10.1 million “Last Dance” jersey, and Diego Maradona’s $9.3 million “Hand of God” Argentina jersey from the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

This summer, the sneakers Bryant wore in his first NBA start were also sold for $240,000.

Roughly a year ago, the locker Bryant had at what was then known as Staples Center, now known as Crypto.com Arena, sold for nearly $3 million.