After a stunning Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals where the visiting Philadelphia 76ers knocked off the heavily-favored Lakers at The Forum, led by Hall of Famer Allen Iverson’s 48 points, Los Angeles rebounded to win the next four games to win their second title in a row and the second of what would be three-straight championships.

Kobe Bryant averaged 24.6 points per game in the five-game series and scored 26 points in Game 5, where the Lakers closed out the Sixers in Philadelphia on June 15, 2001. This was Bryant’s second career title in a Hall of Famer career that saw the Black Mamba lead the Lakers to five NBA titles. Offered here are the very black sneakers worn by Bryant during Game 5 and they’ve been photo matched by Resolution Photomatching to Game 5.

Kobe had a long association with Nike before his tragic passing earlier this year and these offered sneakers are from his early days when he was sponsored by Adidas. These size 14 Adidas Torsion sneakers are all black and show significant game use wear and abrasions throughout. The Adidas three stripes recessed in black on the sides with the Adidas logo on the heel. A gold strip is on the heel above the Adidas logo. The bottom of the shoes have the Adidas logo and Torsion logos. Kobe has signed each of these sneakers in silver marker on the outside ankles and inscribed “8”. Please note that there are abrasion marks on Kobe’s signature and inscriptions either due to post signing wear or the original wear on the sneaker wear Kobe signed it. These sneakers come with a LOA from Resolution Photomatching (425212), who have conclusively matched the left shoe. Additionally there are individual LOAs from Beckett Authentication (A03153 & A03154) and JSA (Z19770 & Z33310) for Kobe’s signatures.

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.