{"id":319163,"date":"2026-11-01T23:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T23:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/319163\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T23:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T23:20:12","slug":"kobe-bryants-33-high-school-jersey-dethrones-lebron-james-with-2-2m-auction-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/319163\/","title":{"rendered":"Kobe Bryant\u2019s #33 High School Jersey Dethrones LeBron James With $2.2M Auction Record"},"content":{"rendered":"

October 30, 2026<\/p>\n

Record-Breaking Auction Milestone: Kobe Bryant\u2019s game-worn Lower Merion High School #33 jersey officially sold for $2.2 million at Sotheby\u2019s,\u00a0establishing a new all-time high for any high school basketball jersey sold at auction.<\/p>\n

Toppling the King\u2019s Record: The sale eclipses the previous benchmark set in 2024,\u00a0when LeBron James\u2019 2002 St.Vincent-St.\u00a0Mary Sports Illustrated \u201cThe Chosen One\u201d jersey commanded $1.3 million.<\/p>\n

Fierce Bidding Duel: Finalizing on October 28,\u00a0the auction accumulated 26 competitive bids across seven elite collectors,\u00a0blowing past the initial presale estimate of more than $1 million.<\/p>\n

Massive Asset Appreciation: Photo-matched to Bryant\u2019s junior season during a March 1995 matchup against Hazleton Area,\u00a0the exact uniform last changed hands for $51,400 in 2013,\u00a0representing a remarkable 4,100% surge in value.<\/p>\n

It all started at Lower Merion High School.\u00a0Who would have ever thought that #33 would go on to become #8 and #24 and,\u00a0in the process,\u00a0one of the greatest athletes of all time?\u00a0You want to know who believed that?\u00a0#33.\u00a0Of course,\u00a0we\u2019re talking about Kobe Bean Bryant,\u00a0who is somehow managing to still set records posthumously (that shouldn\u2019t be a surprise,\u00a0though).<\/p>\n

Sotheby\u2019s has officially confirmed that Bryant\u2019s game-worn Lower Merion jersey sold for $2.2 million,\u00a0setting a record for any high school basketball jersey ever sold at auction.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Nike and LeBron James Get Spooky With the New LeBron 24 \u201cStorm Drain\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

A Fierce 26-Bid Battle at Sotheby\u2019s<\/p>\n

The landmark sale concluded on October 28 following an intense bidding battle that pushed the piece far past its initial presale expectations:<\/p>\n

Seven Competing Collectors: The auction generated 26 aggressive bids across seven elite collectors,\u00a0instantly blowing past the initial presale estimate in excess of $1 million USD.<\/p>\n

Toppling the Previous High: At $2.2 million USD,\u00a0the sale eclipses the prior high-water mark set in 2024,\u00a0when LeBron James\u2019 St.\u00a0Vincent-St.\u00a0Mary jersey from his iconic 2002 Sports Illustrated \u201cThe Chosen One\u201d cover sold for $1.3 million USD.<\/p>\n

Explosive Memorabilia Growth: The milestone captures the meteoric rise of elite sports artifacts\u2014this exact same Kobe uniform commanded $51,400 USD when it last crossed the auction block in 2013,\u00a0representing an astounding 4,100% appreciation in just over a decade.<\/p>\n

The Anatomy of a High School Legend<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The uniform is photomatched specifically to Bryant\u2019s junior season during a March 1995 matchup against Hazleton Area High School.\u00a0Representing a pivotal developmental phase in his early career,\u00a0the game took place just one year before he led Lower Merion to the Pennsylvania Class AAAA state championship in 1996 and made the historic jump directly to the NBA.<\/p>\n

At $2.2 million,\u00a0sports history collectors have officially crowned #33 as legendary as the numbers that followed. But, considering their friendship (Bryant\u2019s last tweet was a congratulatory message to James), I\u2019m sure James doesn\u2019t mind handing the crown over.<\/p>\n

Featured Photo: Sotheby\u2019s<\/p>\n

RELATED: Sony Brings \u201990s Translucent Tech to the PS5 With New \u201cPrism Collection\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"October 30, 2026 Record-Breaking Auction Milestone: Kobe Bryant\u2019s game-worn Lower Merion High School #33 jersey officially sold for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[183,185,184,186],"class_list":["post-319163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion-headlines","tag-lower-merion-news","tag-lower-merion-township"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}