Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant was selected with the 13th overall pick of the 1996 NBA Draft out of Lower Merion High School just outside of Philadelphia by the Charlotte Hornets and was immediately flipped to the Lakers with Vlade Divac heading the other way. Bryant played in 76 games for the Lakers his rookie year, coming off the bench to average 17.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3 assists per 36 minutes. Bryant’s rise was extraordinary, and by his sophomore year had already picked up his first of 18 All-Star nods. The lifelong Laker played until the end of the 2015-2016 season and will be into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Offered here is a signed program from the game where Kobe Bryant made his professional debut with the Lakers. The Lakers and Denver Nuggets played at the Special Events Arena at the University of Hawaii on October 10th and 12th of 1996, before the official regular season began. The Lakers’ lineup is on the left side and the Nuggets lineup is printed on the right. All of the print on the inside with the lineups is in purple. The front cover has the Lakers logo with “1996” and “1997” in purple, with “Los Angeles LAKERS vs. Denver NUGGETS” printed in white on purple exploding background with gold borders. The images of Cedric Ceballos, Shaquille O’Neal, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, Nick Van Exel and Kobe Bryant are all pictured, with “October 10 & 12, 1996 * Special Events Arena University of Hawaii” printed in purple on the bottom. Kobe signed his name on the top of the Lakers lineup in blue pen and inscribed “8”. Denver’s Jeff McInnis’s signature is in black marker on the Nuggets’ page and an unidentified signature is next to his. This comes with a LOA from JSA.

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.

Auction Notepad