Kobe Bryant-Michael Jordan card sells for record $12.9 million at auction

In the eyes of plenty of people, Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant are the two greatest shooting guards ever to step foot on an NBA court.

So, it shouldn’t surprise people that a card featuring both icons just sold for a pretty penny at a public auction.

The card features autographs and game-used patches from Bryant and Jordan, and it sold for a whopping $12.932 million. That set a record for the most expensive sports card ever sold at a public auction.

The previous record was held by a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card that went for $12.6 million in an auction in 2022. The prior record in terms of solely basketball cards was a LeBron James rookie patch autograph card, and someone ended up paying $5.2 million for that earlier on in the decade.

An interesting tidbit regarding the card of Jordan and Bryant is that Jordan’s patch contains a golden logo worn back in the 1996-97 campaign, and that logo was used to commemorate the NBA’s 50th anniversary.

Jordan and Bryant’s card likely sold for so much in part because of the legendary pro careers the pair of shooting guards enjoyed. Jordan might just be the greatest basketball player of all time, as he was as gifted at scoring the ball as anyone in NBA history and also went 6-0 in the championship series in his career.

Bryant also has an impressive resume, even if it may not stack up to Jordan’s. The Lakers legend won nearly as many titles as Jordan, as he took home five (all with the Lakers). To boot, he was named an All-Star 18 times across his 20 seasons in the league.

The fact that Bryant passed away at the start of the decade might have something to do with the card selling for a lofty price. He died in a helicopter crash back in 2020, and he was just 41 years old at the time of his passing.

Lakers fans should probably expect sports cards depicting Bryant to continue to sell for lucrative prices for many years to come.