Kobe Bryant entered the NBA as a mystery in the 1996-97 NBA season, fresh off winning the 1996 Pennsylvania high school basketball title with the Lower Merion Aces and being selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. Bryant, traded to the Lakers on draft night, started his NBA career conservatively, appearing in 65 of his 71 games during his rookie year as a substitute. The son of the former Philadelphia 76er Joe “Jellybean” Bryant averaged 7.6 points per game in his inaugural season before earning a surprise All-Star nod in his sophomore year. Bryant’s skill was evident early on in his NBA career, as the one-time Italy resident set a rookie season-high with 24 points on nine of 11 shooting in a 109-85 win over the Golden State Warriors on April 8th, 1997. Per 36 minutes, Bryant averaged 17.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in his rookie season.

Offered in this lot is a gold Lakers home jersey worn by Bryant during his rookie season of 1996-97. “LAKERS” and Bryant’s number “8” are sewn on the chest of the jersey in purple and white tackle twill, while “BRYANT” and a second “8” are sewn on the back of the jersey in the same fashion. A gold NBA logo patch is sewn on the left shoulder of the jersey, while a Lakers “Body Length +4” tag and a Champion size “44” tag are sewn on the front left tail. Bryant has signed the “8” digit on the back of the jersey in silver marker. This jersey comes with a LOA from Sports Investors Authentication and DC Sports for the game use and a LOA from JSA for the signature.

Please note that this lot has a 25% Buyer’s Premium (28% if payment is made using a credit card and/or is not paid within 10 days of invoice). Goldin Auctions will be donating 5% of the winning bid price to the MambaOnThree Fund.

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