Time passes, but the stars endure, and Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are proof of that.
The NBA legends stole the headlines again by starring on a card that sold for $12,932,000, the highest amount ever paid for a sports card.
Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan continue to break records
The impact of both players on the league and their unmatched playing style has touched the hearts of thousands of fans.
Kobe, who passed away in a plane accident on January 26, 2020, had a historic career full of records: five NBA championships, two Finals MVP awards, one regular season MVP award (2008), and 18 All-Star appearances. Jordan, for his part, is not far behind: 6 championships, 6 Finals MVP awards, 5 regular season MVP awards, among the most notable.
However, this sale and new record set by the basketball icons is the most recent for both. It took place on Saturday, August 23. Through Heritage Auctions, the Kobe and MJ card from the Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs 2007-08, numbered 1 of 1-that is, unique in the world-was sold to a fan whose identity has not been disclosed.
This sale marked a new milestone as the second most expensive sports item, surpassing the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card, which sold for $12.6 million in late August 2022.
The top spot is held by a Babe Ruth jersey from the 1932 World Series, which sold for $24.12 million last year.
Upper Deck’s Exquisite line has transcended and positioned itself as one of the most prominent in the collection of this type of product. Jordan made a total of eight appearances in the Dual NBA Logo Autographs series, produced between 2004 and 2009. Bryant appeared in eleven. Among them, this unique specimen together.
It features the NBA logo in standard patriotic colors, taken from a Kobe jersey. The gold logo, meanwhile, belongs to the glorious 1996-97 season, in which Jordan won his penultimate NBA Championship. The card is completed by the signatures of both players, written in blue marker.
This card belonged to collector Gerald Fortier, who spent $25,000 on it. After two years, it changed hands when he received a tempting offer of $170,000. For 10 years, it belonged to the same person, until Saturday.
Beyond its economic value and the amount paid for it, the card is loaded with sentimental value. The union of two golden eras of basketball and the power of both figures continue to inspire great admiration and affection among fans.
As if that weren’t enough, and to add even more sentimental value, the sale took place on the same day that Kobe would have turned 47. Bryant died along with his second eldest daughter, Gianna Bryant, in January 2020 in a helicopter crash along with seven other people. Without a doubt, his legacy is more alive than ever.
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