Rare pieces of memorabilia from two of the National Basketball Association\u2019s biggest icons are hitting the auction block and are expected to sell for a combined $20 million.<\/p>\n
Sotheby\u2019s announced on Thursday that it is putting up for auction Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant rookie jerseys that were worn during each of their first NBA games. The auction comes as rookie memorabilia has seen a recent surge in popularity and pricing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe historical weight of these two jerseys is difficult to overstate. They are as rare as they come,\u201d said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby\u2019s head of modern collectables, in a statement.<\/p>\n
The jerseys will be available in separate lots beginning March 21.<\/p>\n
Sotheby\u2019s is auctioning off rare jerseys from Michael Jordan\u2019s and Kobe Bryant\u2019s rookie season.<\/p>\n
The Jordan jersey was first worn Oct. 5, 1984, in Peoria, Illinois, where he played his first game for the Chicago Bulls in front of a crowd of just 2,000 people.<\/p>\n
Sotheby\u2019s said jerseys from Jordan\u2019s rookie season are \u201cunicorns\u201d and rarely seen on the market.<\/p>\n
Jordan ended up averaging 28.2 points per game that rookie season, earning him Rookie of the Year honors. He went on to win six NBA championships and has cemented his name as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.<\/p>\n
Sotheby\u2019s expects the iconic jersey to fetch about $10 million.<\/p>\n
A second lot is offering Bryant\u2019s first jersey from his 1996-97 rookie reason with the Los Angeles Lakers. Sotheby\u2019s said the rare jersey was worn during Bryant\u2019s first preseason and regular season games.<\/p>\n
Bryant entered the NBA at just 18 years old and went on to win five NBA championships and two Finals MVP awards. He died in a tragic helicopter crash in 2020.<\/p>\n
Bryant\u2019s jersey is also expected to sell in the $10 million range.<\/p>\n
Sotheby\u2019s says rookie memorabilia has seen a recent uptick in demand among its customers. In October 2023, Victor Wembanyama\u2019s game-worn San Antonio Spurs jersey sold for $762,000, and in August 2022, a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card sold for $12.6 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly rookie jerseys represent the genesis of an athlete\u2019s career. For collectors in search of true one-of-one treasures, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own iconic pieces of basketball history,\u201d said Wachter.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Rare pieces of memorabilia from two of the National Basketball Association\u2019s biggest icons are hitting the auction block and are expected to sell for a combined $20 million. Sotheby\u2019s announced on Thursday that it is putting up for auction Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant rookie jerseys that were worn during each of their first NBA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":15682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}