NBA-Bryant debut Lakers jersey sells for $7 million

(Reuters) - A Kobe Bryant jersey worn during his Los Angeles Lakers pre-season and regular-season debuts was sold for $7 million at Sotheby's in New York City on Thursday, the auction house said.

The jersey was photo-matched to seven games of his 1996-97 rookie season including his October 16 pre-season debut and November 3 regular season debut in 1996, as well as his NBA media day.

At $7 million the item is the fourth-most expensive game-worn sports jersey behind Babe Ruth’s "called shot" jersey ($24 million), Michael Jordan's 1998 NBA Finals jersey ($10.1 million), and Diego Maradona's Argentina shirt from the 1986 World Cup $9.3 million.

"Debut games are truly one-of-a-kind moments in an athlete's career," Sotheby's head of modern collectibles Brahm Wachter said in a statement to ESPN.

"They mark the nascency of an extraordinary journey, and for iconic athletes like Kobe Bryant, these milestones hold even more significance as they represent a singular moment in time that can never be replicated."

The sale was a record for a Bryant collectible, surpassing the $5.85 million paid for his signed, game-worn 2007-08 MVP season jersey.

Five-time NBA champion Bryant died aged 41 in a January 2020 helicopter crash that also killed his daughter Gianna and seven others.

(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)