Kobe Bryant basketball card sells for record amount

Collectible items featuring the likeness of late great Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant are continuing to fetch huge amounts of money on the market and at auctions. Last August, a basketball card featuring Bryant from the 1997-98 season, his second in the NBA, sold for $2.3 million, breaking the previous record of $2 million for a Bryant card.

Now, that record from August 2025 has been surpassed. According to ESPN, a Bryant card from 1997 went for $3.15 million.

"A 1997 Kobe Bryant Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Green card has been purchased by alternative trading platform Alt for $3.15 million, the most ever paid for a solo Bryant card," wrote Dan Hajducky.

"The hefty price tag can be attributed to the lore of green PMGs. Though the serial number on the Bryant card's back reads "009/100," numbers 11-100 of each player's PMGs were red, while 1-10 were green. Of those 10 Bryant green PMGs from the first set, only three have been graded by Professional Sports Authenticator, typically the most desirable grading company. This Bryant card is a PSA 5, with only one graded higher by PSA."

The overall value of basketball cards, especially those from many years ago, spiked greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic. That, along with the untimely death of Bryant and eight other individuals in a January 2020 helicopter crash, has turned all of his memorabilia into greatly treasured items.

About a year ago, a jersey Bryant wore during his 1996-97 regular-season debut sold for an incredible $7 million. His old locker at Crypto.com Arena (known as Staples Center during Bryant's playing career) was purchased for $3 million, and the sneakers and he wore when he tore his Achilles in 2013 went for $660,000 and $1.2 million, respectively.