“They Ain’t Got No Money”: Gilbert Arenas Defends Kobe Bryant’s “Broke” Parents for Championship Ring Auction

The NBA community has been in an uproar ever since Kobe Bryant’s championship ring went on the auction block. Most fans rained harsh words on his parents, Joe and Pam Bryant, for making this decision. Gilbert Arenas, who has replicas of Kobe Bryant’s rings, came to their defense and explained what brought Bryant’s folks to sell a chip of their late son’s legacy.

The answer is straightforward according to Arenas. “They ain’t got no money.” He slammed the fans for the backlash against the former NBA pro. “You can’t be mad because they selling the rings. He got no money!” 

Kobe and his parents remained estranged till his demise in 2020. As Arenas said, they haven’t left a part in Bryant’s $600 million estate, which his widow Vanessa handles. They had previously tried to auction this ring in 2013 among other Kobe memorabilia, but the 5x champion himself didn’t allow it. Due to that history and Bryant’s decade-old comments about his parents selling his rings, fans were outraged at Joe and Pam.

But Arenas is appealing for kindness towards Kobe’s parents. “I’m sorry, you got to understand they broke, they got no money.” He repeatedly said they can’t be faulted and also explained it’s not Kobe’s actual ring that is getting auctioned.

Arenas told No Chill Gill listeners that NBA champions get more than one ring – one is their own and the other is the “family and friends edition.” Kobe gave that replica of the first-ever championship he won in 2000 to his mother, Pamela. She auctioned it in 2019 for $206,000.

Gil did not mistakenly imply that the replica is currently on auction as all reports indicate the original championship ring he gave to his father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant is up for auction. Arenas, a collector of Kobe memorabilia, won’t be getting his hands on this one it seems.

Gilbert Arenas got rare Kobe Bryant memorability too

Arenas told fans that there are replicas of championship rings that only the athletes themselves can gift to loved ones. These rings can’t be bought at a jeweler, he said, but he has replicas of NBA championship rings. He never won a championship himself but Agent Zero confirmed he has all five replicas of Kobe’s rings. These are customizable and he had his last name engraved on them instead of Bryant’s.

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Back then, he said, even the replicas with Bryant’s name on them would cost a pretty penny. “All the one’s that’s for Kobe himself, would have ‘Bryant.’ So, he’ll have Bryant for himself, Bryant for Vanessa, Bryant for his mother and father. So if those rings hit the market, they would be $200,000 to $300,000.”

Currently, the leading bid on the original ring is at $94,000 It could go much higher before the auction closes on March 31. The question is if Joe and Pam’s financial straits justify selling Kobe’s ring.

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