It seemed as if everything late Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant touched eventually turned to gold. He greatly enriched the already tradition-rich franchise in his 20-year career with it, and he brought it five NBA championships and countless indelible memories.
Ever since his tragic death in a helicopter crash in January 2020, some of his memorabilia has been auctioned off for gigantic dollar amounts. Later this month, a big piece of Bryant memorabilia will be up for bids.
Via The Sporting Tribute:
“The locker Kobe Bryant used at Staples Center from the 2003=2016 is being put up for auction by Sotheby’s, The Sporting Tribune has learned,” wrote Arash Markazi.
“The locker was used by Bryant during the NBA Finals in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010, as well as the NBA All-Star Games in 2004 and 2011.
“It also was used on the night Bryant scored 62 points against the Dallas Mavericks through three quarters on Dec. 20, 2005, scored a franchise-record 81-points against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006 and scored an unforgettable 60 points against the Utah Jazz in his final game on April 13, 2016.”
When the arena then known as Staples Center was being renovated in 2018, the locker was discovered and saved in order to prevent it from being disposed of. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this item “will directly benefit the Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation,” according to Sotheby’s.
If you’re going to be in the Tri-state area later this month, you can publicly view this locker at Sotheby’s New York galleries from July 26-30 before it is auctioned off.
