Three months have gone by since Kobe Bryant passed away in a tragic helicopter crash along with his daughter and seven others. Now, about 100 memorabilia items possessed by Bryant are up for auction.
The auction house in charge of arranging this huge memorabilia sale is named ‘Goldin.’ “We believe it is the largest collection ever in one place of Kobe Bryant memorabilia,” Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions told ESPN.
The collection includes a wide range of items ranging from game-worn sneakers to NBA championship rings. About 5% of the total proceeds from the auction will go to the Mamba and the Mambacita foundation. A leather Lakers handbag signed by the 2012-13 Lakers team is also one among the unique items on auction.
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Ken Goldin also detailed on a few other items which will be up for bidding. The online auction ends on 16th May lists Bryant’s 2000 NBA championship ring and the famous eight-diamond studded ring from the 2012 Olympics. Kobe’s Adidas sneakers from the 2001 NBA Finals currently stand at the highest bid at $28,000.
LeBron James’ collectible also a part of the auction
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LeBron James passed Kobe Bryant on the all-time NBA scoring list on January 25, 2020, a day before his death. Bryant posted a commendatory tweet for James after he went past him. “If you want to think back to this day, it was the last happy day in basketball, really,” Goldin told ESPN.
Thus, both the nets from the Lakers game in which James passed Kobe has also been put up for bidding. Other signed items by LeBron James, Michael Jordan and other basketball stars are also available at the auction.
Other Highly Valued Memorabilia
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Sabrina Ionescu, the number one pick in the WNBA draft had sent her Oregon college jersey to Bryant. The words, ‘To Kobe’ was inscribed on the jersey which is also put up by Goldin for bidding purposes. Kobe had been mentoring Sabrina and was equally active in voicing out his concern for the upliftment of the women’s game.
There are a plethora of collectibles that bidders can choose from. Other memorabilia include Bryant’s match-worn jerseys, sneakers, and even basketballs signed by the late Lakers legend. “There’s something for everyone,” Goldin said. “We expect the price points in here to go from as low as $500 to potentially over $100,000.”